Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Welcome

The Anonymous Solidarity Network provides support for those who are facing prosecution for alleged involvement in "Anonymous" activities. We believe that community acts of internet protest are not crimes nor conspiracies and should not be prosecuted as such. We plan on keeping folks updated with legal developments as well as provide information and resources to other Anons to protect themselves and have a better understanding of what we're up against. Remember, you cannot arrest an idea, and while they may be able to harass and arrest a few of us, they can never stop us all. Free em all!


People of the World: Drop the Charges Against the Anonymous 16!


Dear People of the World,

You may know that some of our brothers and sisters have been kidnapped by the judicial system by the FBI in an ongoing effort to repress anti-censorship movements. Some governments and media outlets have gone as far as calling us 'cyber terrorists' for our efforts to expose corruption. It is clear that these activists are neither criminals nor terrorists, but simply care about transparency and democracy, and unfortunately this has made them the target of overreaching law enforcement efforts.

The Anonymous 16 were arrested for allegedly taking action against PayPal as part of Operation Payback. When PayPal and others refused to allow financial contributions to WikiLeaks, we realized it as an attack on the free flow of information. Wikileaks is an organization that reveals how corrupt corporations and governments are abusing your money, your information. In fact, one of the documents released exposes how the U.S. government is systematically working to undermine and disrupt WikiLeaks through counter-intelligence operations. PayPal played a role in the government's attempt to subvert democracy by preventing others from voluntarily supporting WikiLeaks.

Considering the circumstances of this case it is clear to see that the prosecutors are greatly overreaching in their attempts to imprison these peaceful digital activists. Any sane and rational person can agree that the punishment for the alleged crimes doesn't fit the facts of the case. The alleged actions do not support either conspiracy, unauthorized access, or damage to a protected computer. Instead, they are the digital equivalent of a peaceful protest and sit-in, which is a respected tradition of civil disobedience. As such, 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine is unwarranted and amounts to political persecution.

We are working to build a support network to stand with all accused Anonymous defendants under the gun of the State. The FBI is engaged in selective, politically dicatated prosecution. While the FBI won't pursue an investigation into the DDoS of WikiLeaks (as this was likely done with their support and financial backing), they believe they can make an example out of our brothers and sisters instead. Now is the time to set aside our differences and unite in support of these heroic activists against these trumped up charges. Join us in a solidarity protest in support of our friends.

LOIC/DDOS IS NOT A CRIME! JUSTICE FOR THE ANONYMOUS 16!

We are Anonymous
We are Legion. pm
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

Friday, August 26, 2011

"Anonymous 16" Arraignment on September 1st

September 1 is the arraignment date of many, if not all of the "Anonymous 16" arrested on July 19th. The following is a brief overview of the forthcoming legal process, simplified to be helpful to those who may not be familiar with the U.S. justice system.

Details about the indictment, which arises out of a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California can be found at the Department of Justice website, here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/July/11-opa-944.html

14 of the defendants will be arraigned at the federal courthouse in San Jose. The defendants are charged with conspiracy and intentional damage to a protected computer, in connection with the Paypal DDoS attack #Op Avenge Assange.

In the simplest possible terms, the indictment means that the defendants have been formally charged. The law requires that they now be arraigned in federal court. This means that they will have to appear formally before the court to answer the charges that have been brought. An arraignment is generally a short process, the goal of which is to have the defendant plead guilty or not guilty. For more information, you can read about the process, here

All of the defendants are entitled to lawyers. Generally, a defendant is expected to pay for his or her own lawyer. But if a defendant is indigent, or doesn't have the means to pay, then a lawyer is appointed. In this case, the lawyer would be from the federal public defender's office. Because of the nature of this case, and the fact that the cases involves a war on information, the National Lawyer's Guild has agreed to help with legal resources, and arranged for private lawyers to take some of these cases. For more information about Anonymous and the NLG see anonlg.com.

Thus, the Anonymous 16 case will be litigated, most likely, by both public and private defense lawyers. As a member of Anonymous, a lawyer, and activist, I am also contributing time to the case. I do not represent any of the Anonymous 16. However, I have made myself available to advise the Anonymous 16 support network which has developed out of Anonymous itself.

This support network is growing daily. We have two anon lawyers, and expect that number to grow, in order to help the anon support network arrange communications and analyze the legal issues that arise in the case. We also have a team dedicated to fund raising. We need to raise funds and develop supporting materials for our website, and disseminate videos, fliers, and posters. We are actively seeking material for these projects in order to promote solidarity with the anons.

 The well-being of the Anonymous 16 is our first and foremost concern. The United States, with its tremendous resources, is attempting to curtail and criminalize the free flow of information that leads to government transparency. The United States has every reason to maintain the status-quo, as any deviation challenges its own massive, secretive intelligence community. Thus, the Anonymous 16 have been charged with very serious crimes in order to intimidate and harass both Anonymous and their supporters.

The good news is that by taking such a hard line, the United States government has admitted that Anonymous has been effective and powerful in its efforts. But those who have been arrested, and those who are on the front lines of this battle, already know that this will not be an easy fight. Therefore, we need to strengthen our efforts on behalf of the defendants, in order that they remain strong.

The government has gravely overreached in their charges. The charge of breaking into a protected computer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1030, is defined here. There are strong arguments to be made that a DDoS attack does not fall within the purview of the statute at all. It is essential that we  develop both legal and technical arguments to assist with the defense, so that the Anons are aware of our support, and are not unduly swayed by pressure from the federal government to accept a heavy-handed plea agreement in this case.

Additionally,  we will develop ourselves as a resource going forward, in order to promote information about what does, and does not, fall within the statute, in order to lessen the possibility that the FBI will intimidate anons into coopering with the government, in either this or future cases.

Engaging the legal system in this way is a form of resistance. Therefore, we need to offer every appearance of solidarity in the face of this persecution on free information exchange and civil protest, by the U.S. federal government. This will be a long, difficult challenge, but for none more so than the arrested Anons. They will face emotional and financial hardship in their efforts to resist this outrageous prosecution. Let's show them that we are here for them, unequivocally.

Who are the "Anonymous 16"

 This is a list of the people who were raided and arrested by the FBI as part of the conspiracy to DDOS/LOIC PayPal. This does not imply "guilt", nor association with "Anonymous", but is only a list of those arrested.
Mercedes Renee Haefer
  • #### 2011, ... - California - Dennis Collins "Iowa" - ... - Paypal Hack
    Case No. 5:11-cr-00471-JF-13
  • #### 2011, ... - Christopher Wayne Cooper "Anthrophobic" - ... -
    Case No. 1:11-mj-00172-C-1 usa-v-cooper.htm
  • #### 2011, ... - Joshua John Covelli, 26, known as "Absolem" and "Toxic"
  • #### 2011, ... - Keith Wilson Downey, 26
  • #### 2011, ... - Mercedes Renee Haefer, 20, known as "No" and "MMMM"
    Case No. 2:11-MJ-00485-LRL  FreeMercedes.org  haefer-release.pdf
  • #### 2011, ... - Donald Husband, 29,  known as "Ananon"
  • #### 2011, ... - Vincent Charles Kershaw, 27, known as "Trivette,"  "Triv" and "Reaper"
  • #### 2011, ... - Ethan Miles, 33
  • #### 2011, ... - James C. Murphy, 36
  • #### 2011, ... - Drew Alan  Phillips, 26, known as "Drew010"
  • #### 2011, ... - Jeffrey Puglisi, 28, known as  "Jeffer," "Jefferp" and "Ji"
    Case No. 5:11-MJ-00257 puglisi-release.pdf
  • #### 2011, ... - Daniel Sullivan, 22
  • #### 2011, ... - Tracy Ann Valenzuela,  42
  • #### 2011, ... - Christopher Quang Vo, 22
  • #### 2011, ... - Unnamed Female, 16
  • #### 2011, ... - Scott Matthew Arciszewski, 21
  • #### 2011, ... - Lance Moore, 21
  • #### 2011, ... - Giordani Jordan

#FreeTopiary Statements

The following statements have been circulating about the arrest of Jake Davis, alleged Lulzsec member Topiary.
This is a message to and about Topiary, found on twitter and pastebin (original on pastebin)

On an historical day of the days of the great Anonymous... the Simple Prankster Turned Swank Garden Hedge  - Topiary (may theLulz bless his soul) has been vanned in a moment of truthfulness, for he made his word truthful to his actions.

Thus, he joined the magnificent procession of the Anons that has been extended with the great leaders, loyal soldiers, and honourable knights.

He refused to accept vice in exchange for his lulz, or to submit and be humiliated by the misguided and the receivers of the wrath of Sec, who have been stricken by disgrace and misery. Topiary faced the lulz with lulz, force with force, and accepted to challenge the supercilious throngs that came out arrogantly and ostentatiously with their machinery, gear, d0x, and lack of humor.

Despite all this, his determination never wavered and his strength was never weakened; he instead stood up to them, face-to-face like a high mountain. He continued to fight the kind of battles that he was accustomed to... until he received the bullets of Sec and humorlessness to surrender his soul to its Lulz...

After a life full of efforts and diligence, courage and patience, incitement and cyber victory, generosity and charity, expatriation and travels, advice and good planning, wisdom and sophistication, the life of the Garden Hedge came to an end during this specific era.

His blood, words, attitudes, and his ending are to remain a longcat running within the junctions of Anonymous generation after generation.

If Scotland Yard succeeded in vanning Topiary, that is no shame or disgrace. Are not men and heroes killed but on the battlefields? But can the British, with their media, agents, tools, soldiers, and apparatus kill what Topiary lived and was vanned for?

Alas! Topiary did not found an organisation that lives with his life and dies with his death.

We raised his rank as he held high our lulz. We cherished him as he cherished the lulz; and through him, we frightened the totality of the unlulzy parties as Topiary feared only the shears.

If the light of Anonymous and AntiSec could be extinguished with the vanning or death of someone, it would have been already. Alas, it is not so.

We in Anonymous vow to David Davidson the Exalted and seek His support to help us go forward on the path of AntiSec that was trekked by Topiary.

We stress that Topiary's blood, bless his soul, is more precious to us and to every Anon to go in vain. It will, lulz willing, remain a curse that will chase and haunt Sec and its agents.

Very soon, lulz willing, their joy will turn into mourning and our lulz will be mixed with their tears. We will fulfill Topiary's maxim, bless his soul: 'You are free.'

The anons of Anonymous, whether in groups or individually, will not relent, despair, surrender, or weaken and will continue to plan until you are afflicted with a catastrophe that turns your very life into lulz.

We call on our Anons in the UK where Garden Hedge Topiary was vanned to revolt and wash this shame brought upon them by a band of traitors and bandits who sold out to Anonymous' enemies and disparaged the sentiment of this noble, lulzy people.

We call on Anons to revolt altogether to cleanse the world of the ProSec filth who spread mischief in the land.

The Hedge refused to depart this life before sharing with Anonymous its happiness with the revolutions against injustice and wrongdoers. He, bless his soul, tweeted a message one week before he died, which included guidance that will soon, lulz willing, be disseminated.

His message was this poetic verse: 'You cannot arrest an idea.'

Topiary – may you fly always over the horizon.
From Pastebin:


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To my dearest Lulz Lizards,

Jake Davis is perhaps the greatest digital graffiti artist of all time. A purveyor of many lulz, this swank garden hedge known as Topiary left his personal Twitter account with a quotation from famed civil rights activist Medgar Evers, "You cannot arrest an idea."

Jake wrote many lulzy press releases for both Anonymous and Lulz Security. He proved his value as a spokesperson by taking on Shirley Phelps of Westboro Baptist, slaying her hateful religious zeal with over 9,000 sins.

The Lulz Boat's journey on the seven proxseas went underway only with the aid of Jake and his natural ability to entertain. By using PBS to detail the peaceful retired life of Tupac and Biggie, Lulz Security garnered the admiration and love of hundreds of thousands.

Jake Davis tracked down Rupert Murdoch, the truest source of evil hacking, and throttled his throat. The Sun injected itself with an heroic dose of Palladium, and Media Mogul's body has not yet recovered.

There was a great purpose and an important message behind these mischevious acts of cyber-vandalism. Jake Davis brought lulz to the oppressed. He spoke in a voice that resonated globally and reached us personally. We are sick of the twisted corporatocracy that controls us through our government, our news media, and our internet. From the remote and desolate Shetland islands, Jake's voice reached millions. Perhaps the success of his message was in its simplicity, "Together, united, we can stomp down our common oppressors and imbue ourselves with the power and freedom we deserve."

Jake Davis may face jail time, but he publicly spoke of this in the most noble of terms. A jail sentence is, to him, not a failure of any sort.

It is a triumph.

"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison." ~ Henry David Thoreau

You can help Topiary by donating bitcoins to whichever following address you trust most:
18NHixaoQekQJ3y52aBGJJwgBWX9X3myYR ~ Sabu
18zJouAQAMzX5sJygZ4M2QV7yb8FzxSbdq ~ Chronicle.SU

"You are not failures. You have not blown away. You can get what you want and you are worth having it, believe in yourself." ~ Jake Davis