Global Courant 2023-05-26 22:49:05
The Pentagon Police Department has increased security measures to ensure classified information is not taken away, including random screenings as staff and guests depart.
The screenings include uniformed officers checking bags.
The new measures come after Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was arrested, accused of leaking a trove of classified military documents to an online forum.
A Pentagon spokesman said screening as people come and go is not new, but confirmed improved screenings in light of a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about protecting classified information.
“The Pentagon Force Protection Agency routinely screens employees entering and leaving the Pentagon for prohibited items and to ensure classified information is protected and handled in accordance with current security requirements. PFPA has increased these security screenings and measures in response to the immediate review of information security procedures led by Secretary of Defense Austin on April 17, 2023,” Defense Department spokesman Sue Gough said in a statement.
Individual U.S. military bases have also stepped up security and searches for classified materials since Teixeira’s arrest, officials said, though such measures are at the discretion of base commanders.
Teixeira, who had top-secret security clearance, was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base. He was arrested at his home by the FBI in April. He was charged under the Espionage Act and is being held without bail.
