There is also a petition to remove Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Heymann for his heavy-handed tactics.[1] In addition to Aaron Swartz, he also led the case against Jonathan James, who tragically passed away at age 24. Two weeks after his home was raided by Heymann's team. I know that there is insistence to not vilify these people, but they must be shown that they are not above reproach. These tactics are not only ineffective, they are designed precisely to make life harder for people. Jonathan James proclaimed his innocence until the day he died, but was denied his day in court because of harsh treatment and the history of fiercely one-sided conspiracy cases. I am absolutely *sick* of seeing the best minds of my generation being put through the spin cycle by overzealous investigators. And I am equally sick of seeing the community shy away from them when that happens. When AIDS activists go to jail, they organize from within. When they get out of jail, they are supported by friends and allies and are able to continue their work. This paranoia that pervades our community hinders people who might want to organize effectively -- which is exactly the point. Do not think for a moment that this is not intentional. Some of the most successful companies in America have been founded by hackers, and yet the climate is such that legal activities like cryptography, anonymity, or high-level computer science make people nervous. Why is that something we've been putting up with? So yes, sign these petitions, but also write letters in support of your stance. Call people. Send faxes. Talk to the media. Hold vigils. Make trouble. Do not let these people take away your rights of protest and intellectual curiosity. Stay safe out there, Griffin Boyce [1] Heymann petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-h... On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 2:50 PM, Jordan McCarthy wrote:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-atto...

The probably efficacy of this effort is questionable, of course. But it seems like a somewhat more appropriately-targeted effort than the petition being aimed at MIT (http://open.scripts.mit.edu/blog/petition/), which has already showed clear signs of contrition (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21011663).

< Jordan

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