J.J. McGrath has reported on Jan. 26, 2013, for the International Business Times, Anonymous Hacktivists Claim Operation Last Resort Is Responsible For Shutdown Of US Justice Department Website. Anonymous, which is a loosely associated hacktivist collective, has claimed its Operation Last Resort was responsible for the shutdown of the U.S. Justice Department Sentencing Commission's website early Saturday.
In a video posted on YouTube the Anonymous group said that it carried out the cyberattack
in retaliation for the prosecution and subsequent suicide of free-speech activist Aaron Swartz, 26, on Jan. 11. At the time of his suicide, Swartz, who was an early architect of Reddit, was facing trial on charges that he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer network in order to steal more than 4 million articles from JStor, which is an online journal distribution service. Swartz was facing a possible prison sentence of 31 years and fines of as much as $1 million.
Lisa M. Ruth has reported for The Washington Times, Operation Last Resort: "Anonymous" retaliation for Swartz death. On Saturday, hackers replaced the content of the government web site with a message to the world, lamenting “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.”
Anonymous went on to explain, “Two weeks ago today, a line was crossed. Two weeks ago today, Aaron Swartz was killed. Killed because he faced an impossible choice. Killed because he was forced into playing a game he could not win – a twisted and distorted perversion of justice – a game where the only winning move was not to play.” Anonymous has also stated, “After much heavy-hearted discussion, the decision was upheld to engage the United States Department of Justice and its associated executive branches in a game of a similar nature, a game in which the only winning move is not to play.” It's really too bad there appears to be so much truth behind the comments of Anonymous in regard to what has become an increasingly unethical and brutal U.S. Department of Justice.
