The man who leaked U.S. intelligence documents worked on a military base and shared the classified information to find companionship, according to the Washington Post interviews with members of the Discord community where the leak originated.
The article described the leaker, who some call “OG,” as an early to mid-20s gun enthusiast who sought to create an online community by sharing classified information.
OG’s opinions on the U.S. government overreach came through in his communications as he refrained from supporting Russian or Ukrainian side in the war.
The leaks began with “near-verbatim transcripts of classified intelligence” originating from the military base where OG worked. After experiencing a lack of engagement in the invitation-only channel with around two dozen members, OG began sending pictures of the documents instead.
The anonymous Discord community member said OG knew what he was doing — “these weren’t accidental leaks of any kind.” After the classified information began spreading past the small Discord community, OG “seemed very confused and lost as to what to do,” the member said.
The account aligns with the previous reporting by Bellingcat, which identified the “Thug Shaker Central” server as the original source of the leaks.
“Both members said they know OG’s real name as well as the state where he lives and works but declined to share that information while the FBI is hunting for the source of the leaks,” the Washington Post wrote.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
