Our coverage of Barrett Brown

The Astonishing Security State Travails of Our New Podcaster Barrett Brown

Day after day headlines blare throughout the world about the attempts of governments to stifle freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the freedom of people to associate online and off with whomever they choose.

The story of Barrett Brown, his work as both an activist and a journalist, should be better known, since it is one of the most telling illustrations of how we got to today’s climate of fear. In 2013, when few in the mainstream media were even noticing, WhoWhatWhy sat up, took notice and published this remarkable and prescient account of one man’s battle against View article …

The Saga of Barrett Brown: Inside Anonymous and the War on Secrecy

Alleged “hacktivist” Barrett Brown, the 31-year old mislabeled “spokesman” for the shadowy hacker collective known as Anonymous, faces federal charges that could put him away for over a hundred years. Did he engage in a spree of murders? Run a child-sex ring? Not quite. His crime: making leaked emails accessible to the public—documents that shine a light on the shadowy world of intelligence contracting in the post-9/11 era.

A critically acclaimed author and provocative journalist, Brown cannot be too easily dismissed as some unruly malcontent typing away in the back of View article …

Hacktivist Journo Barrett Brown And Lawyers Gagged

On September 4 in a Dallas courtroom, the prosecution and the defense in the Barrett Brown case agreed to a gag order. It prevents Brown, attorneys for both sides, as well as anyone representing them, from talking to the media about his prosecution.

Brown faces over a century in prison for allegedly sharing a hyperlink, concealing laptops, and threatening an FBI agent. The same Special Agent, Robert Smith, testified in court that Brown controlled a share of the publicity surrounding his case. In an ironic twist, the prosecution argued View article …

Barrett Brown, Suzie Dawson, John Kiriakou

Exclusive to WhoWhatWhy: The Barrett Brown Podcast

Back in February of this year, WhoWhatWhy’s Jeff Schechtman spoke with Barrett Brown in one of his first interviews since being released from federal prison. Brown was incarcerated for four years for hacking the private intelligence firm Stratfor. This exploit — for which the hacker group Anonymous took credit — revealed that Stratfor was one of many companies hired to spy on activist groups on behalf of US corporations.

At the time Brown spoke of his plans to once again be active in a number of causes and to make his voice heard. One of the ways View article …

Journalist Barrett Brown Is Out of Jail — and Has Big Plans

Barrett Brown thinks big.

Brown was released from federal prison on November 29 after four years of incarceration for hacking the private intelligence firm Stratfor. The hack — for which the hacker group Anonymous took credit — revealed that Stratfor was one of many companies hired to spy on activist groups for US corporations.

In his first interview since being released from a halfway house in Dallas, Brown tells WhoWhatWhy’s Jeff Schechtman about his desire to pick up where Anonymous left off, and his ambitious plans for what he calls the “Pursuant System.”

What he envisions is a new technology-driven civic platform View article …

Barrett Brown Takes on Dallas Politics

How does a progressive, anti-establishment kind of guy keep winning elections in Dallas, Texas, with all of the city’s establishment forces — including the mayor and the powerful Dallas Morning News — against him?

How did Philip Kingston once again get elected to the Dallas City Council?

One big reason may be that, as he explains below, “better communication diminishes the influence of money in public.”

What he communicates on his website clearly appeals to voters: “an urbanist, neighborhood-first agenda.” And if his claims are true, it is easy to see why he continues to attract votes — as View article …

Barrett Brown Update: New Defense Team, Feds Fish For Activists

Several new developments in the Barrett Brown case suggest that the playing field between the cyber-activist/journalist and the government may be starting to even out—at least a bit. But the feds aren’t giving up anytime soon.

On April 28 it was announced that Brown—currently facing upwards of 100 years behind bars for a slew of felonies ostensibly unrelated to his work as a journalist—had retained new defense counsel, including heavyweights certain to draw more attention to his case than ever before.

Brown’s new team will consist of attorneys Ahmed Ghappour and Charles Swift.

Swift’s name should be familiar View article …

Barrett Brown’s Exclusive Interview with Wanted Hacker Lauri Love

Lauri Love is accused of stealing large amounts of data from US government agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Army, the Department of Defense, NASA and the FBI, in a series of hacks in 2012 and 2013.

US authorities allege that Love is part of a network of hackers that infiltrated government networks to protest the treatment of Aaron Swartz, the entrepreneur and hacktivist who committed suicide after being arrested for downloading academic journals and facing 35 years in prison.

Love is charged with placing hidden “shells” or “backdoors” within networks, allowing for confidential data to be stolen. View article …

Barrett Brown Sentenced to 5 Years, After Facing More Than a Century

A feisty, confrontational journalist who exposed explosive details about the machinations of the national security apparatus and faced more than a century in prison has been sentenced to five years and three months.

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The Government Is Not Done Messing with Barrett Brown

A recent lawsuit against the FBI is shedding light on the complex game the Bureau is playing to silence investigators of the cyber-industrial complex.

The lawsuit concerns the subpoenaing of anonymous donor information to the legal defense fund for formerly incarcerated journalist Barrett Brown. Brown had investigated data from private intelligence corporations that was leaked by the hacker collective Anonymous. He created a wiki, ProjectPM, to crowdsource the work of sifting through the data — which found interesting bits of information, like an effort to discredit WikiLeaks and View article …

Government’s Final Onslaught Delays Barrett Brown’s Sentencing

Even with a conviction secured by a plea deal, prosecutors doubled down against a brash journalist who dared to expose the national security machinery and threaten an FBI agent. (more…)

Silencing Barrett Brown

The previously unreleased transcript of Barrett Brown’s September 4 gag hearing in Dallas, obtained by WhoWhatWhy, shows just how far the government tried to go to shut up a “hacktivist journo” who challenged the status quo.

The lead prosecutor, Candina Heath, told the judge that, during the trial, Brown should be forbidden from publishing criticism of the government. That conversation, revealed in the transcript, was out of earshot of those in the gallery when WhoWhatWhy attended the hearing.

At the time of that hearing, Brown faced more than View article …