2003-08-12
Free so long as we agree?
This is scary.
LOS ANGELES (AP)--A federal judge sentenced a man to a year in prison Monday for creating an anarchist Web site with links to sites on how to build bombs.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson sentenced Sherman Austin to more than the prosecutor had recommended under a plea bargain.
Sherman Austin is 20 years old. I took a look at his website and it's not that different from various other anarchist websites. It's the kind of website I'd expect from an angry 20 year old anarchist. Bomb-making information has been floating around on the internet for years. I haven't done a search but I bet there's information there for anyone that wants to make whatever kind of drug too. I'm sure that this was not the emphasis of his website and I'm sure there are others who have not been targeted that have similar links to such content.
The The Mad Prophet points out that a part of Judge Wilson's ruling, that Austin may not associate with anyone from a group that "espouses physical force as a means of change" is hypocritical. By that logic Austin cannot associate with anyone that supported the war in Iraq.
Another story here.