MajorityFM + CBC Radio.
5 April 2015 00:00
Barrett Brown Explains Why He Is In Prison For Doing His Job.
Imprisoned journalist Barrett Brown explains how he ended up in prison, corporate spying and the DOJ. What is Stratfor and what do they do? Is linking now a crime? The private sector and the national security state. The threat to journalism.
Barrett Brown is an American journalist and activist who’s been associated with the so-called "hacktivist" group Anonymous in the past. He was arrested in September of 2012, on charges of aggravated identity theft and trafficking in stolen data.
And in fact, Barrett Brown has never actually been accused of taking part in any kind of theft. Instead, he posted a web link... inside a internet chat room. The link led to a cache of hacked information, including credit card numbers. And that led to the charges...
After some protracted proceedings, Barrett Brown finally pleaded guilty to some lesser charges — aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice, along with a charge related to threats he made against an FBI agent in a YouTube video he posted online.
He was sentenced to 63 months in prison, just over 5 years.
