As The Inquisitr reported earlier tonight, Anonymous has struck again; hacking the website of the US Sentencing Commission in memory of fallen Reddit co-founder and social activist, Aaron Swartz. The feared Hacktivist Collective swore revenge on the government for the January 11, 2013 suicide of Swartz, which they feel occurred as a direct result of the relentless pressure the Federal Prosecutor’s office was putting on Aaron.
Anonymous blamed the Massachusetts Federal Prosecutor for terrorizing Aaron by threatening him with millions of dollars in fines, and 35 years or more in prison, for allegedly hacking Jstor, a subscription-only website that distributes scientific and literary journals.
Aaron Swartz had an fully legal account to use the website and download articles, but the Federal Attorney wanted to make an example of him, according to Swartz’s family members and close friends.f Jstor, who experienced no financial harm, declined to press criminal charges, but the Prosecutor insisted on proceeding with the case.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, who is reported to be contemplating a run for Governor of Massachusetts, served Aaron with a 13 felony indictment. Even though Aaron never distributed one of the millions of articles he downloaded, the Feds indicted him anyway, claiming he was planning to make them available to the world for free.
We will never know the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the legal case against Aaron Swartz. Withing hours of his death, the Prosecutor’s office announced they were dropping the case. What we do know is Aaron believed in the free distribution of information. He wanted people in every single country, rich or poor to have free access to the accumulated knowledge of the human race.