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Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 01:44:45 +1100
Subject: [ParanoidTimes] FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchist's Site
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FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchist's Site
By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes
SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,
31 Jan 2002
In a case that may test limits on Internet free speech in the wake of Sept.=
11, armed federal agents last week raided the home of a Los Angeles teenag=
er suspected of hacking into several Web sites to post anarchist messages a=
nd using his own site, Raisethefist.com, to publish bomb-making information=
.
Sherman Martin Austin, 18, is believed to have violated federal computer fr=
aud and abuse laws, as well as statutes prohibiting the distribution of bom=
b-making information, according to an FBI affidavit.
FBI agents conducted the raid on the afternoon of Jan. 24 at the Sherman Oa=
ks residence owned by Austin's mother after receiving a federal warrant. Th=
e agents seized several computers and documents, according to an FBI spokes=
person.=20
In an interview Wednesday, Austin told Newsbytes he was interrogated for mo=
re than six hours but has not yet been charged with any crimes.=20
According to Austin, all of the site's files, which were dedicated to "the =
anti-corporate globalization movement," were lost as a result of the raid. =
The site had received approximately 700 unique visitors each day, he said.=
=20
"I think they are a bunch of cheap shots, surrounding and raiding my house =
with machine guns, shotguns, bullet-proof vests. They had more artillery th=
an they use with wanted gang felons or raids on drug operations," said Aust=
in.=20
Matthew McLaughlin, a representative of the FBI's Los Angeles field office,=
confirmed that agents who conducted the search were heavily armed.=20
"This is Los Angeles after all. We always go in to protect ourselves. We do=
n't go in with slingshots," said McLaughlin.=20
A message at the Raisethefist.com site today described the raid and said th=
e incident was proof that "anyone actively disagreeing with policies of the=
U.S is now automatically rendered a 'terrorist' in the eyes of national se=
curity."=20
Following the Sept.11 attacks on America, Congress passed the USA Patriot A=
ct, which expand the ability of law enforcement to hunt for terrorists.=20
"People can rant and rave on the Internet all they want, but when they cros=
s the line of calling people to action to violently overthrow the Constitut=
ion of the United States, they have a problem," said McLaughlin.=20
According to the FBI, Austin allegedly defaced at least five commercial Web=
sites since 1999 using the nickname "Ucaun." On three of the sites, Austin=
left behind a hacking program named troop.cgi that was designed to attempt=
to log in to a computer operated by the U.S. Army, the FBI affidavit state=
d.=20
In the interview, Austin acknowledged that he vandalized the Web sites and =
that he knew it was illegal to do so. But he defended the act by saying it =
was necessary to get his message out.=20
Copies of several of the defaced pages are accessible using the cache store=
d by the Google search engine. The defacements contain white and red text o=
n a black background, with the title "Hacked by the UCA - Underground Confi=
dential Association" and a verbose screed about overthrowing the government=
and building a "New World Order."=20
According to the FBI, Austin operated Raisethefist.com as well as a site fo=
r his fledgling Web development business, 2CP.com, from computers in his ho=
me connected to the Internet by DSL.=20
Copies of the site's pages cached by Google include instructions on how to =
make explosives from pipes, fertilizer, and match heads.=20
In the interview, Austin said he did not write the bomb instructions but in=
stead copied the pages from another site.=20
Another page, entitled "Hacking," notes that the Department of Defense and =
other government agencies are dependent upon information technology and are=
therefore vulnerable to computer attacks.=20
"But how many of us are really willing to engage in such an intense form of=
warfare through bauds and wires? Who's got the balls? Who's willing to sac=
rifice everything?" said the page.=20
The domain registration record for Raisethefist.com lists Austin as the adm=
inistrative, technical, and billing contact for the site. Austin said he "m=
ade up" the name listed as the site's registrant, Joseph Parker, "for secur=
ity reasons" and noted that he has received threats because of the site's a=
nti-government message.=20
According to Austin, he has been targeted by the government simply because =
he advocates social justice.=20
"If I go to jail, then I will go to jail not based on my actions, but based=
on what I think," he said.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174092.html
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<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG>FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchist's
Site</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>By Brian McWilliams, Newsbytes<BR></STRONG>SHERMAN OAKS,
CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,<BR>31 Jan 2002</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a case that may test limits on Internet free speech in the wake of Sept.
11, armed federal agents last week raided the home of a Los Angeles teenager
suspected of hacking into several Web sites to post anarchist messages and using
his own site, Raisethefist.com, to publish bomb-making information.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sherman Martin Austin, 18, is believed to have violated federal computer
fraud and abuse laws, as well as statutes prohibiting the distribution of
bomb-making information, according to an FBI affidavit.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>FBI agents conducted the raid on the afternoon of Jan. 24 at the Sherman
Oaks residence owned by Austin's mother after receiving a federal warrant. The
agents seized several computers and documents, according to an FBI spokesperson.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In an interview Wednesday, Austin told Newsbytes he was interrogated for
more than six hours but has not yet been charged with any crimes. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>According to Austin, all of the site's files, which were dedicated to "the
anti-corporate globalization movement," were lost as a result of the raid. The
site had received approximately 700 unique visitors each day, he said. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"I think they are a bunch of cheap shots, surrounding and raiding my house
with machine guns, shotguns, bullet-proof vests. They had more artillery than
they use with wanted gang felons or raids on drug operations," said Austin.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matthew McLaughlin, a representative of the FBI's Los Angeles field office,
confirmed that agents who conducted the search were heavily armed. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"This is Los Angeles after all. We always go in to protect ourselves. We
don't go in with slingshots," said McLaughlin. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A message at the Raisethefist.com site today described the raid and said
the incident was proof that "anyone actively disagreeing with policies of the
U.S is now automatically rendered a 'terrorist' in the eyes of national
security." </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Following the Sept.11 attacks on America, Congress passed the USA Patriot
Act, which expand the ability of law enforcement to hunt for terrorists. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"People can rant and rave on the Internet all they want, but when they
cross the line of calling people to action to violently overthrow the
Constitution of the United States, they have a problem," said McLaughlin. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>According to the FBI, Austin allegedly defaced at least five commercial Web
sites since 1999 using the nickname "Ucaun." On three of the sites, Austin left
behind a hacking program named troop.cgi that was designed to attempt to log in
to a computer operated by the U.S. Army, the FBI affidavit stated. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In the interview, Austin acknowledged that he vandalized the Web sites and
that he knew it was illegal to do so. But he defended the act by saying it was
necessary to get his message out. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Copies of several of the defaced pages are accessible using the cache
stored by the Google search engine. The defacements contain white and red text
on a black background, with the title "Hacked by the UCA - Underground
Confidential Association" and a verbose screed about overthrowing the government
and building a "New World Order." </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>According to the FBI, Austin operated Raisethefist.com as well as a site
for his fledgling Web development business, 2CP.com, from computers in his home
connected to the Internet by DSL. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Copies of the site's pages cached by Google include instructions on how to
make explosives from pipes, fertilizer, and match heads. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In the interview, Austin said he did not write the bomb instructions but
instead copied the pages from another site. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Another page, entitled "Hacking," notes that the Department of Defense and
other government agencies are dependent upon information technology and are
therefore vulnerable to computer attacks. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"But how many of us are really willing to engage in such an intense form of
warfare through bauds and wires? Who's got the balls? Who's willing to sacrifice
everything?" said the page. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The domain registration record for Raisethefist.com lists Austin as the
administrative, technical, and billing contact for the site. Austin said he
"made up" the name listed as the site's registrant, Joseph Parker, "for security
reasons" and noted that he has received threats because of the site's
anti-government message. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>According to Austin, he has been targeted by the government simply because
he advocates social justice. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"If I go to jail, then I will go to jail not based on my actions, but based
on what I think," he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174092.html";>http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174092.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<br>
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