14 DAY TRIAL // After many people suspected that he was setting up his own downfall in order to raise money for himself, The Jester (th3j35t3r) came forward to prove them wrong.
It all started when a Twitter user named Smedley Manning (@cubespherical) published a number of screenshots that allegedly proved that he knew the hacker’s true identity. He claimed that he would release The Jester’s dox when his Bitcoin wallet would reach 20,000 BTC.
One day later, The Jester’s account had been deleted and some of his blog posts were removed in what seemed to be his surrender in front of the mysterious character.
At this point, two sides were formed. Some believed that the hacker was faking everything in an attempt to raise money and disappear, while others argued that this Smedley character might really know his identity.
When he saw that things were escalating, The Jester decided that it was enough.
“This news exploded – and as some folks danced on my grave, I decided I had the rare opportunity just to observe without getting involved. I saw numerous people who had previously tried to befriend me or get into my head were now, safe in the knowledge I was effectively ‘dead’, totally berating me and my previous exploits, denouncing me and more,” The Jester wrote on his blog.
“So here’s the throwdown. ‘Smeddles’ drop my dox. Do it. You have proved and shown nothing. Only that you are completely failing,” he added.
On May 17, in a final attempt, @cubespherical posted a tweet saying that he was about to reveal the hacker’s true identity, but a few hours later, instead of dropping the dox, he changed his tactics.
He suddenly became affiliated with Anonymous and called The Jester a child predator. However, that was pointless, since he didn't manage to raise any money and he failed to deliver the hacker's identity.