Some members of the Thug Shake Central Group defended Teixeira, arguing the young guardsman only posted the materials to the group in an attempt to spark discussion and keep friends informed. "This guy was a Christian, anti-war, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on," a 17-year-old member of the group told the New York Times. "We have some people in our group who are in Ukraine. We like fighting games, we like war games."