Sherman Austin

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Sherman Martin Austin is a anarchist who admitted violation of 18 U.S.C. 842(p)which makes it a crime to distribute bombmaking information knowing or intending that the information will be used for a violent crime. He was also charged with 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) possession of a firearm, a charge that friends and activists often ignored when speaking about Sherman's case. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 12 months in a federal jail, a $2000 fine, three years probation, and as well as other restrictions as part of a plea bargain. The laws allows a penalty up to 20 years in a federal jail[http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_000008 44----000-.html]. He was a former webmaster of the internet site "Raisethefist.com".

While Sherman Austin has not been convicted of any hacking crimes, there are a number of facts that would seemingly connect him with certain computer crimes, as documented in the January 16, 2002 search warrant and affidavit ([1]) issued by the FBI: On May 1st, 2001, the FBI received information about a possible server intrusion and defacement of www.jrifilms.org, the site of the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness. The information contained on www.jrifilms.org/home.html had been deleted and replaced with politically militant rhetoric. It also contained New World Order conspiracy theories, and a credit of responsibility given to a group calling itself UCAUN (Underground Counteractive Assemblage Universal Network). Upon further investigation through publicly available means (such as www.google.com), it became known that approximately 40 other websites had also been defaced with similar information, with UCAUN claiming responsibility within the defacement text. In addition, the coding for a number of these defaced sites contained links to www.raisethefist.com, a website that was founded and maintained by Sherman Austin. It is also known that Sherman Austin created and used the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) screen name UCAUN. Sherman also created and used the IRC username of UCAUN. On July 11, 1999, in the IRC channel FREEDOMGUARD on UNDERNET, the username UCAUN was quoted in a logged conversation as saying: "The U.C.A.U.N. hacks into thousands of websites, displaying the NWO message to the world" and "I have hundreds of US DoD Documents which I stole from hacking into US DoD computer systems, so everyone can see it" and "I will need you all first to just e-mail me: 2CP@2CP.COM with subject: NWO." 2CP.Com was the website for 2-Cool Productions, a website founded and maintained by Sherman Austin that advertised website design and CGI/Perl programming.

On January 24, 2002 the FBI and the Secret Service armed with submachine guns, shotguns, bulletproof vests and a search warrant raided Mr. Austin's home. Federal agents completely surrounded the house before approaching the front door. Although the 18-year old suspect was not present during the raid, agents seized all of his computer equipment and political literature. A week later Austin attended the anti [[World Economic Forum]] protests in New York City where he was arrested by the FBI for "distribution of information related to explosives or weapons of mass destruction". However, Sherman never authored any information about explosives. The FBI referred to a different area of the Raise the Fist server ("www.raisethefist.com/exit ) which was authored by a different individual (who was questioned and admitted to authorship of the information). Despite physical and digital evidence, and even a confession from the real author, the FBI chose to prosecute Sherman for distributing the bomb-making information. Some claim that the FBI fabricated evidence and court documents to use against him, although this has never been proven. He eventually accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to a year in federal prison on August 4, 2003.

This information, which Austin claims was posted on his website by someone else, is allegedly available on the Internet in other places. While the information on how to make a bomb may not itself be illegal (see [[Freedom of speech in the United States|Freedom of speech in the U.S.]]), the FBI asserts that the information was posted with intent for it to be used to commit a crime or terrorism. Ironically, [[Carnegie Mellon University]] professor David Touretzky, who has also posted bombmaking information to the internet, has not been charged or arrested and books like [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970148526 Home Workshop Explosives], which has similar information about making explosives, are sold on the popular website Amazon.com.

Austin claims that he is not guilty and was coerced, by the government, into pleading guilty.

Many anarchists consider him a political prisoner. Since his arrest, Sherman Austin has become a cause célèbre on the internet for anarchists, with many sites dedicated to "freeing" Austin. [[Zack de la Rocha]], lead vocalist of the band Rage Against the Machine, came out in support of Austin.

His time was served in a federal institution in Tucson, Arizona and was released 6 months early in July 2004 with 3 years of strict probation which prohibits him from having access to a computer as well as knowingly associating with individuals who "espouse violence for political change". His mother, Jennifer Martin Ruggiero, is an outspoken advocate for her son.

In February 2006, Sherman released a statement on Indymedia ([2]) claiming that the National Security Agency (NSA) had installed illegal wiretaps before and during the investigation against him. These claims were made after George W. Bush admitted publicly to authorizing the NSA to conduct illegal wiretaps and surveillance. There has never been any evidence that shows that the NSA has ever been involved with Sherman's case. Within the same article, Sherman also makes other unfounded suggestions, including one about a supposed death threat posted online by an anonymous person, where Sherman suggests that the phrase "when all the lights go off...your nigger ass gets killed" is somehow a prediction of the August 2003 North American blackout, which took place thousands of miles away from Sherman's residence. Sherman also claims that he "received information from anonymous persons telling me there was a price on my head set by the NSA and other higher-ups in the government." He then goes on to say, "I was informed about 3 different supposed assassination attempts to be carried out. I was given some detail on who was serving the contracts, names, license plate numbers, etc. Other then that I was told it was a surprise I was still alive but everything was being taken care of and I was being 'looked out for'." Evidence of any of this has yet to be seen, as it is unlikely that the NSA would attempt to assassinate such a minor figure.

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