Internet activism can be very wearing on a person's emotions as Aaron Swartz discovered the hard way with reports he has killed himself. Today, Jan. 12, 2013, Charles Cooper has reported for CNET, Internet activist Aaron Swartz commits suicide. On Friday computer activist Aaron H. Swartz committed suicide in New York City at 26-years-old.
This news was first reported by the MIT newspaper The Tech. In July 2011 police had arrested Swartz with accusations he stole 4 million documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jstor, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. It was claimed by the authorities that he broke into a restricted-access computer wiring closet at MIT and accessed that network without any authorization. If convicted, Swartz would have faced a maximum of $4 million in fines and more than 50 years in prison after the government raised the number of felony counts against him to 13 from four.
Mashable has also reported on the story of the suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, Internet Activist Aaron Swartz Commits Suicide. Elliot R. Peters, Swartz’s attorney, has said, “The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true.” Swartz co-founded Reddit and Demand Progress, which is an advocacy group that "works to win progressive policy changes for ordinary people through organizing, and grassroots lobbying."
