14 DAY TRIAL // The legal defense team of Barrett Brown, the famous journalist and activist, has announced a victory. The prosecutors have agreed to drop 11 charges against Brown after defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss count one and counts 3 through 12.
Count two, which hasn’t been dismissed, accuses Brown of fraud. However, Kevin Gallagher, the director of the Free Barrett Brown group, believes no jury would convict him because the prosecution can’t demonstrate that he had malicious intent.
The charges that have been dismissed are related to the fact that, after the Stratfor hack, Brown published a link to information stolen from the organization by Anonymous hackers on an IRC channel. The defense argued that the activist had nothing to do with the hack attack or Anonymous.
Furthermore, digital rights groups argued that the conviction of Brown for linking to leaked data could criminalize common journalistic practices.
“We are relieved that federal prosecutors have decided to drop these charges against Barrett Brown. In prosecuting Brown, the government sought to criminalize a routine practice of journalism—linking to external sources—which is a textbook violation of free speech protected by the First Amendment,” the EFF stated after the 11 charges were dropped.
“Although this motion is good news for Brown, the unnecessary and unwarranted prosecution has already done much damage; not only has it harmed Brown, the prosecution—and the threat of prosecution it raised for all journalists—has chilled speech on the Internet,” the EFF added.
“We hope that this dismissal of charges indicates a change in the Department of Justice priorities. If not, we will be ready to step in and defend free speech.”
While this is a victory not only for Brown’s supporters, but also for all defenders of free speech, Gallagher highlights the fact that they still have a long way to go.
The journalist still faces a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison. Of these 70 years, 40 are for hiding his laptops in a kitchen cabinet during a raid on his home. Federal prosecutors call it obstruction of justice, but the defense calls it “protecting journalistic sources.”
A motion to dismiss these charges has also been filed.
“It makes the point that merely moving items from one place to another, within the scope of a search warrant, cannot constitute 'concealment', especially when the items are found with ease,” the Free Barrett Brown group argues.
“All he did was put them away. One is under no obligation to leave your belongings conveniently out on the table for the FBI. If he had taken them out of the house it would be a different story.”