Internet Activists Plan Protest Over Aaron Swartz
The “hacktivist” group Anonymous) announced today it will hold a protest at the Justice Department on January 25 in memory of web pioneer and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz.
Swartz, who was found dead in his apartment last week in an apparent suicide, was facing federal hacking charges for illegally downloading academic journal articles. After his death, the Department of Justice dropped all pending charges against Swartz.
In a statement, Swartz’s family and partner called his death “the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach.”
The Anonymous call to protest expressed similar outrage:
”As his body is laid to rest, his image will be burned in our minds with a fire flaming out of control for justice and an apology from the Department of Justice. Days after his death, the DOJ finally dropped Aaron’s charges, something that should’ve been done when no true crime was committed and only free public documents were downloaded.”
The Department of Justice has declined to comment on Swartz’s death, “We want to respect the family’s privacy at this time,” DOJ spokesperson Christina DiIorio-Sterling told NBC News in an article posted Monday afternoon.
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