Barrett Brown, a hacktivist, journalist and writer, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison, less 28 months for time served, for threatening an FBI agent, for being an accessory after the fact in the unauthorized access to protected computers owned by securities firms and interfering with a serach warrant, The Dallas Morning News' Tasha Tsiaperas reports.
At issue was whether Brown was aware that a link he shared online contained credit card information that had been hacked by others. Brown and his supporters argued that heightening his sentence for sharing the link would chill journalism and the First Amendnment. But U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay said Brown's involvement with the Anonymous hack was "'more than a mere posting of that link.”'
Brown said in a satirical statement that '“I’ll be provided with free food, clothes, and housing as I seek to expose wrongdoing by Bureau of Prisons officials and staff and otherwise report on news and culture in the world’s greatest prison system.'"
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