Sherman Austin

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Sherman Austin
caption =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1983|4|10cite web
url=http://www.shermanaustinmusic.com/bio.html
title=Sherman Austin
publisher=Shermanaustinmusic.com
accessdate=2008-03-31]
birth_place = Los Angeles, California
death_date =
death_place =
other_names =
known_for =activism
occupation =

Sherman Martin Austin (born April 10, 1983) is an American anarchist and convicted felon. He was the first person to be successfully prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. 842(p), a United States federal law which makes the distribution of information on explosives unlawful if the information is provided with the knowledge or intent that the information will be used to commit a violent federal crime.cite journal
last=Kendrick
first=Leslie
year=2005
month=December
title=A Test for Criminally Instructional Speech
journal=Virginia Law Review
volume=Vol. 91
issue=No. 8
pages=1973–2021
url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0042-6601%28200512%2991%3A8%3C1973%3AATFCIS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I ] The relevant text of the statute reads as follows:"(2) Prohibition.— It shall be unlawful for any person—(A) to teach or demonstrate the making or use of an explosive, a destructive device, or a weapon of mass destruction, or to distribute by any means information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction, with the intent that the teaching, demonstration, or information be used for, or in furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime of violence; or(B) to teach or demonstrate to any person the making or use of an explosive, a destructive device, or a weapon of mass destruction, or to distribute to any person, by any means, information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction, knowing that such person intends to use the teaching, demonstration, or information for, or in furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime of violence. " [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000842----000-.html US Code: Title 18,842. Unlawful Acts] ] Austin was convicted under a plea agreement in 2002 and served a one year sentence in Federal prison. [ [http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5062481.html Newsmaker: A Webmaster's 25th hour] ]

Investigation, conviction and imprisonment

Background

Prior to his arrest and imprisonment, Austin was webmaster of the Internet site [http://www.raisethefist.com/ RaisetheFist.com] (subtitled "National Security is the Threat"), which provides a platform for discussion for anti-police activists, and provides suggestions on how to practice for possible armed combat with police.cite magazine
quotes =
last=Schanlaub
first=Russ
year=2005
month=December
title=Anti-Police Internet Sites
journal=Law and Order
url=http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/articlearchive/details.aspx?ID=152 ]

On May 1, 2001, the FBI received information about a possible server intrusion and defacement of the web site of the [http://www.jrifilms.org/ James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness] . The information contained on that web site's home page had been deleted and replaced with politically militant rhetoric. In addition, the coding for this and a number of other defaced sites contained links to RaisetheFist.com. Sherman Austin's personal online username for a number of IRC clients, including AIM Instant Messenger, was UCAUN.Context needed [http://cryptome.org/usa-v-rtf-swa.htm USA v. Sherman Martin Austin - Search Warrant and Affidavit] ]

earch and arrest

On January 24, 2002 the FBI and the Secret Service armed with a search warrant raided Austin's home. Agents seized all of his political literature and computer equipment, including the webservers used to distribute the explosives information. While searching Austin's bedroom, agents discovered two glass bottles containing petroleum products; one of these bottles had a metal screw top with a hole punched in the lid and the other contained a piece of burnt material. Agents also found boxes containing 63 glass bottles, and a remote controlled detonation device fashioned from a toy car. [http://cryptome.org/usa-v-sma-aca.htm USA v. Sherman Martin Austin - Affidavit in Support of Complaint and Arrest Warrant] ] Austin's car contained fertilizer, cans of brake fluid, and two gas canisters. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/access/105343450.html?dids=105343450:105343450&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+5%2C+2002&author=BRAD+HUNTER+and+LARRY+CELONA&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=019&desc=BABY+%27BOMB%27+BUST+-+TEEN+ECON-PROTESTER+HELD+FOR+EXPLOSIVES+WEB+SITE New York Post Online Edition: News ] ]

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 relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction”. [cite news |first=Amy |last=Goodman |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The U.S. Government Wanted ‘To Make An Example Out of Me’: Young Webmaster Heads to Prison for Political Website |url=http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/03/1442239 |work= |publisher=Democracy Now |date=2003-09-03 |accessdate=2007-10-22 ] When he was arrested, Austin was carrying a black mask, a gas mask, and a lighter; his car contained an empty gas canister, electrical wiring, and duct tape. [http://cryptome.org/usa-v-sma-dht.htm Detention Hearing Transcript] ] He asked to be released so he could travel to the trial jurisdiction on his own, but the federal prosecutor argued that Austin's alleged vow to "take violent action to stop the 2002 Olympics" and "burn" the event posed another serious threat. Federal Magistrate Henry Pitman ruled that Austin would remain in custody for the trip back to California. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/access/106160091.html?dids=106160091:106160091&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+8%2C+2002&author=Devlin+Barrett&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=009&desc=WEF+%27OLYMPIC+TERRORIST%27+JAILED New York Post Online Edition: News ] ]

Conviction

On August 4, 2003, after entering a guilty plea under an agreement with the prosecutor, Austin was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Stephen V. Wilson to 12 months in a federal jail, a $2000 fine, and three years probation, and as well as other restrictions. His time was served in a federal institution in Tucson, Arizona.

Austin has claimed that he never authored the explosives information, although he freely hosted it on his webserver. [http://www.counterpunch.org/merlin08162003.html Counterpunch interview] ] He says he took the plea deal because of the possibility of a 20 year sentence due to a "terrorism enhancement" clause in the USA Patriot Act. [cite news |first=Declan |last=McCullagh |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A Webmaster's 25th hour |url=http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5062481.html |work= |publisher= |date=2003-08-13 |accessdate=2007-10-22 ]

Austin was not indicted for any alleged hacking crimes. However, he has acknowledged defacing the sites, saying it was necessary to get his message out. [ [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/raisethefist/msgs/newsbytes-2002-01-31.txt News article archived on Prof. Touretzky's website about Austin's case] ]

Release

Austin was released one month early in July 2004 with 3 years of probation which prohibits him from having access to a computer or knowingly associating with individuals who "espouse violence for political change".

Following his release from prison, he released a hip-hop CD, "Silence is Defeat". [ [http://www.shermanaustinmusic.com/ Sherman Austin's Music] ]

In February 2006, Austin released a statement on Indymedia containing claims that the National Security Agency had installed illegal wiretaps before and during the investigation against him, and that the NSA, along with "other higher-ups in the government", arranged three separate attempts to assassinate him. Austin says that anonymous informants provided him with "some detail on who was serving the contracts, names, license plate numbers, etc", by anonymous informants, and that these informants also assured him that everything was being taken care of and he was being "looked out for". [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Secret NSA surveillance and the case of Sherman Austin |url=http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/148031.php?theme=1 |work= |publisher= |date=2006-02-21 |accessdate=2007-10-22 ]

Criticism of Austin's prosecution

Some have questioned whether Austin's trial was fair. Austin's supporters consider him a political prisoner.http://www.fsrn.org/news/20040713_news.html] [http://www.serendipity.li/hr.html Human Rights ] ] Since his arrest, Austin has become a cause célèbre on the internet for anarchists, with many sites dedicated to freeing Austin. [http://www.infoshop.org/shermanaustin.html] [http://www.carlagirl.net/activism/freesherman.html] Zack de la Rocha, lead vocalist of the band Rage Against the Machine, came out in support of Austin. [ [http://youtube.com/watch?v=5UG_9YaZXtg YouTube - Zack de la Rocha ] ]

Leslie Kendrick, arguing for the adoption of a standard for determining whether speech is "criminally instructive", has questioned whether Austin's sentence was fair given the available evidence. As he notes, the law protects both (a) speech that is intended to incite a violent crime, but is not actually likely to do so, and (b) speech that is likely to incite a violent crime, but is not actually intended to do so. The Department of Justice prosecutor recommended a sentence of four months in jail and four months in a halfway house, but the judge rejected that plea twice and ordered a 12-month sentence in jail, saying the prosecution was not "taking this case seriously enough". Writing of Austin, Kendrick says, "Too little information is available to make a complete assessment either of Austin's intent or the likely use of his website by others... Judge Wilson's difference of opinion with the Justice Department prosecutor (the very agency that had contributed to the drafting of the Feinstein Amendment) illustrates the degree of subjectivity involved in assessing the danger imposed by the activities of individuals like [him] ."

Carnegie Mellon University professor David S. Touretzky posted a mirror of the "Reclaim Guide" on his web site in reaction to the FBI raid on Austin, in order to prompt public debate. As Touretzky notes on his website, his own distribution of the material does not violate the statute because it is not performed with the intention or knowledge that the information be used to commit any illegal violent acts. On his website, Touretzky distances himself from Austin's politics, which he characterizes as "mindless", and suggests that the hacking evidence alone would be enough to arrest and charge Austin. But he is deeply troubled by the way the government handled the case:

"Did the amateurish bomb-making information, written by a minor, that Mr. Austin allowed to appear on his web site pose any signifcant threat to public safety? Did he personally intend to to promote crimes of violence? Because he was coerced (with the threat of a possible 20 year 'terrorism enhancement') into signing a plea agreement, the government was spared the trouble of a public trial, and thus did not have to prove its case or enter its evidence against him into the public record. How then can we, the American people, judge whether our government acted reasonably in this matter?" [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/raisethefist/ Prof. Tourtetzky's website] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/shermanaustin Sherman Austin's MySpace page]
* [http://www.shermanaustinmusic.com/ Sherman Austin music site]
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Sherman+Austin Sherman Austin's last fm page]
* [http://www.raisethefist.com raisethefist.com]
* [http://www.freesherman.org/ freesherman.org]
* [http://feinstein.senate.gov/03Releases/r-bombmaking3.htm Senator Feinstein Urges Department of Justice to Aggressively Enforce Bombmaking Statute] September 3, 2003
* cite news
url=http://counterpunch.org./merlin10112003.html
first=Merlin
last=Chowkwanyun
title=A Strange and Tragic Legal Journey: The Case of Sherman Martin Austin
publisher=Counterpunch
date=2003-10-11
* [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/raisethefist/ What the FBI Doesn't Want You to See at RaisetheFist.com] by Prof. Touretzky
* [http://www.indypendent.org/?p=794 "Anarchist Webmaster Begins Year in Jail for Inflammatory Website"] , The Indypendent, September 9, 2003

Audio
*cite news |last=Anicich |first=Ron |title=First interview with Sherman Austin |work=Please Kill Me |publisher=CKLN-FM |date=February 28, 2002 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/4323
*cite news |last=Anicich |first=Ron |title=Second interview with Sherman Austin |work=CKLN News |publisher=CKLN-FM |date=January 24, 2003 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/6133
*cite news |last=Anicich |first=Ron |title=Sherman Austin Interview |work=CKLN News |publisher=CKLN-FM |date=August 28, 2002 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7644
*cite news |last=Shermin |first=Austin |title=Interview with Sherman Austin |work=Agit-Drop |publisher=Killradio.org |date= |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7546
*cite news |last=Shermin |first=Austin |title=Interview No. 2 with Sherman Austin |work=Agit-Drop |publisher=Killradio.org |date= |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7622
*cite news |last=Chowkwanyun|first=Merlin|title=Interview with Sherman Austin |work= |publisher=WBAR |date=July 28, 2003 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7402
*cite news |last=Chowkwanyun|first=Merlin |title=Interview with Sherman Austin |work= |publisher=WBAR |date=August 28, 2003 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7572
*cite news |author=Unwelcome Guests Collective |title=#165 - Enforcing Silence |work=Unwelcome Guests |publisher=Unwelcome Guests Collective |date=August 28, 2003 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7582
*cite news |author=Staff volunteers |title=Sherman Austin on his Surveillance, Arrest and Imprisonment |work=L.A. Sound Posse |publisher=L.A. Sound Posse |date=July 01, 2007 |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/7644