Anonymous Hacks US Sentencing Commission

It seems that our Federal .gov is stepping on every ones toes these days.  Anonymous is stepping back.

Anonymous hacks US Sentencing Commission, distributes files

Summary: Late evening Friday, January 25, U.S. Sentencing Commission website was hacked and government files distributed by Anonymous in what the group calls "Operation Last Resort."

Head on over to read the article for background and the Anonymous video release with transcription.

The statement from Anonymous starts out with:

Citizens of the world,


Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined. We have seen the erosion of due process, the dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful authority of courts by the “discretion” of prosecutors. We have seen how the law is wielded less and less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain.

Spot on, and this trend does seem to have really increased over the last few years.

In this day of indefinite detention of American Citizens, warrantless wiretapping and the suppression of free speech, the demands of Anonymous seem very reasonable.

However, in order for there to be a peaceful resolution to this crisis, certain things need to happen. There must be reform of outdated and poorly-envisioned legislation, written to be so broadly applied as to make a felony crime out of violation of terms of service, creating in effect vast swathes of crimes, and allowing for selective punishment. There must be reform of mandatory minimum sentencing. There must be a return to proportionality of punishment with respect to actual harm caused, and consideration of motive and mens rea. The inalienable right to a presumption of innocence and the recourse to trial and possibility of exoneration must be returned to its sacred status, and not gambled away by pre-trial bargaining in the face of overwhelming sentences, unaffordable justice and disfavourable odds. Laws must be upheld unselectively, and not used as a weapon of government to make examples of those it deems threatening to its power.


For good reason the statue of lady justice is blindfolded. No more should her innocence be besmirked, her scales tipped, nor her swordhand guided. Furthermore there must be a solemn commitment to freedom of the internet, this last great common space of humanity, and to the common ownership of information to further the common good.

These are demands that I can support.  If any of the proposed gun control legislation makes it into law, the Justice Department will have to be very creative in how they come after us and due process will not stand in their way.

Earlier this month Anonymous did respond to the Obama gun control policies.

As one very smart person once said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".