Tucker Carlson Says Jack Teixeira Being Treated Worse Than Osama Bin Laden

The "news media" is treating Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified U.S. military documents, "like Osama bin Laden, maybe a little worse," according to Tucker Carlson.

The Fox News presenter made the comment during his show on Thursday after Teixeira was arrested by the FBI at his family's home in Dighton, Massachusetts.

Teixeira is accused of sharing hundreds of secret and top-secret documents, many relating to the war in Ukraine, to an online gaming chatroom.

Amid the condemnations over his alleged actions, some, including Republicans, have voiced their support, with Marjorie Taylor Greene stating he had exposed "the truth about Ukraine."

Speaking on his show, Carlson commented: "Now our news media exists, and have constitutional protection, precisely in order to push back against this grotesque standard. Their only job is to tell the truth, yet tonight the news media are celebrating the capture of the kid who told Americans what's actually happening in Ukraine.

"They're treating him like Osama bin Laden, maybe a little worse actually, because, unlike Al-Qaeda, apparently, this kid is a racist."

Teixeira, who held the rank of Airman 1st Class within the Massachusetts Air National Guard, is expected to face charges under the Espionage Act.

Carlson alleged that the leaks prove U.S. troops are "fighting Russian soldiers" in Ukraine, without providing evidence.

He said: "The slides show that this is in fact not Ukraine's war, it's our war. The United States is a direct combatant in a war against Russia. As we speak, American soldiers are fighting Russian soldiers. So this is not a regional conflict in Eastern Europe, this is a hot war between the two primary nuclear superpowers on Earth."

One of the leaked documents, dated March 23, states that 14 U.S. special forces are stationed in Ukraine, alongside British, French, Latvian, and Dutch counterparts, but it does not provide details about their whereabouts or actions. Speaking to ABC News, "a current U.S. official" said the American contingent had been deployed to protect the U.S. embassy.

Newsweek has contacted Fox News by email asking if the network stands by Carlson's claims.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke out in defense of Teixeira on Twitter.

She commented: "Jake Teixeira is white, male, Christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime.

"And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more. Ask yourself who is the real enemy?"

Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, was shot dead by U.S. special forces on May 2, 2011, at a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.