Hacktivist Barrett Brown Sentenced to Five Years
A good objective overview of the case and the facts.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay said Brown’s posting of the link “is more than that appears,” citing testimony and documents showing that Brown was an active participant rather than just a mere observer.
“In my mind, it is more than just posting the link,” Lindsay said at the sentencing hearing. “What took place will not chill the First Amendment rights of journalists.”
In his plea agreement, Brown, 33, of Dallas, admitted he hid his computers during execution of a search warrant at his mother’s home, and posted profanity-laced videos of himself threatening to shoot FBI agents investigating him, including Special Agent Robert Smith.
Brown was indicted in October 2012 on charges of making an Internet threat, conspiring to make restricted personal information of a federal employee publicly available, and retaliating against a federal law enforcement officer.
He was indicted a second time and accused of linking to stolen credit card information obtained from Anonymous’ 2011 hacking of Austin-based security firm Stratfor Global Intelligence. Prosecutors claimed the link led to 5,000 credit card account numbers.
More: Courthouse News Service