#OpPenPal Statement of Solidarity with Jeremy Hammond

It should go without saying that we at #OpPenPal stand in solidarity with Jeremy Hammond.

It is always difficult to watch a friend plead guilty, especially when they do so because the “justice” system cannot be trusted to reveal the truth.

Jeremy has been systematically isolated, refused bond, and denied the ability to aid in his own defense. Jeremy has been assigned a judge with a conflict of interest who refuses to recuse herself from the case. Jeremy has also been threatened with further prosecution should he successfully defend himself against these charges.

It is not justice, but rather the result of a slow erosion of Jeremy’s right to a fair and speedy trial to prove his innocence.

The maximum sentence for Jeremy’s plea is 10 years, but the minimum is zero. When Jeremy is sentenced in September he will have already served 18 months. Please see his brother Jason’s petition to reduce sentencing to time served.

It is our sincere wish that we may welcome Jeremy back home in the very near future. In the meantime, the best thing we can do for Jeremy and others in his position is to keep writing, to not allow the state to isolate them into submission.

Send him a letter of support today:

Jeremy Hammond
#18729-424
Metropolitan Correctional Center
150 Park Row
New York, NY 10007

Then visit our mailing list to find others who need your love and support.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive injustice.
We do not forget our comrades.
Expect Mail. Lots of it.

Statement from Jeremy Hammond Regarding His Plea

Today I pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This was a very difficult decision. I hope this statement will explain my reasoning. I believe in the power of the truth. In keeping with that, I do not want to hide what I did or to shy away from my actions. This non-cooperating plea agreement frees me to tell the world what I did and why, without exposing any tactics or information to the government and without jeopardizing the lives and well-being of other activists on and offline.

During the past 15 months I have been relatively quiet about the specifics of my case as I worked with my lawyers to review the discovery and figure out the best legal strategy. There were numerous problems with the government’s case, including the credibility of FBI informant Hector Monsegur. However, because prosecutors stacked the charges with inflated damages figures, I was looking at a sentencing guideline range of over 30 years if I lost at trial. I have wonderful lawyers and an amazing community of people on the outside who support me. None of that changes the fact that I was likely to lose at trial. But, even if I was found not guilty at trial, the government claimed that there were eight other outstanding indictments against me from jurisdictions scattered throughout the country. If I had won this trial I would likely have been shipped across the country to face new but similar charges in a different district. The process might have repeated indefinitely. Ultimately I decided that the most practical route was to accept this plea with a maximum of a ten year sentence and immunity from prosecution in every federal court.

Now that I have pleaded guilty it is a relief to be able to say that I did work with Anonymous to hack Stratfor, among other websites. Those others included military and police equipment suppliers, private intelligence and information security firms, and law enforcement agencies. I did this because I believe people have a right to know what governments and corporations are doing behind closed doors. I did what I believe is right.

I have already spent 15 months in prison. For several weeks of that time I have been held in solitary confinement. I have been denied visits and phone calls with my family and friends. This plea agreement spares me, my family, and my community a repeat of this grinding process.

I would like to thank all of my friends and supporters for their amazing and ongoing gestures of solidarity. Today I am glad to shoulder the responsibility for my actions and to move one step closer to daylight.

Jeremy Hammond

[source]

#OpPenPal Launch

Our brothers and sisters have been taken away from us. Some of the best and brightest of our generation are locked away from the world in an effort to silence them and make us forget. But we are Legion. We do not forgive, we do not forget. We leave no one behind.

Our comrades are accused of working to make government transparent and accountable to the people. They are accused of setting information free. They are accused of opposing war and crimes committed under its banner. They are accused of disrupting financial institutions that have themselves disrupted and ruined the lives of millions.

We do not believe these actions or the people being charged for them are dangerous. The acts that they are accused of can at worst be called civil disobedience and whistle blowing. Yet the government has already decided they are guilty, holding some for years without a trial.

During #OpValentine, letters of love and support poured into prisons across the world. We now launch #OpPenPal as an ongoing action in support of Anons and other activists navigating the nightmare of the “justice” system.

Anyone can join this op – find a pen, some paper, and a stamp. We may be from the Internet, but we are backward compatible. Let a political prisoner know they are not forgotten.

@OpPenPal | #OpPenPal

https://oppenpal.wordpress.com

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