Meet Barret Brown: Jailed Anti-surveillance state activist, now has been gagged!
Last edited Wed Sep 4, 2013, 05:09 PM - Edit history (2)
This is getting so obscene and blatantly Orwellian. 
Jailed Activist Barrett Brown Fights Government Attempt to Gag Him
Anti-surveillance state activist already faces 100 years—now prosecutors want to silence him as well.
The Guardian * Sept. 4, 2013 * By Ed Pilkington
Federal prosecutors will attempt to place a gag order on the jailed activist-journalist Barrett Brown and his legal team on Wednesday that would prevent them from talking to the media about his prosecution.
The US attorney Sarah Saldana will call on the federal court for the northern district of Texas, in Dallas, to impose a stringent gagging order on Brown and his lawyers. Brown faces up to 100 years in prison for alleged offences relating to his work exposing online surveillance.
In legal papers lodged with the court last month, the government asked the judge to instruct the defence to refrain from making "any statement to members of any television, radio, newspaper, magazine, internet(including, but not limited to, bloggers), or other media organization about this case".
Media observers will be watching the hearing closely as it is widely seen as the latest in a succession of prosecutorial moves under the Obama administration to crack down on investigative journalism, official leaking, hacking and online activism.
Brown's lead defence attorney, Ahmed Ghappour, has countered in court filings, the most recent of which was lodged with the court Wednesday, that the government's request for a gag order is unfounded as it is based on false accusations and misrepresentations. The lawyer says the attempt to impose a gagging order is a breach of Brown's First Amendment rights as an author who continues to write from his prison cell on issues unconnected to his own case for the Guardian and other media outlets.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/barrett-brown-fights-gag-order
= new reply since forum marked as read
That's what makes me sick. We voted these people in, but we sure didn't get what we thought we were voting for, in most cases. I had already seen the weaseling on social security and in prosecuting medical marijuana use where it was legal, but this iron fisted response to folks outing their illegal spying is appalling.
This is exactly the kind of nasty shit that's going down oh-so quietly behind
the scenes, as the war drums get LOUDER and LOUDER!!!! ... <-- not a pretty picture.
bye-bye USA. it's been good to know ya. 
...because this is what a Police State looks like.
- K&R
I totally stole it
A trial in which the defense would not allowed to present their full case because allowing such would be a threat to "National Security"! 
