–Journalist and activist Barrett Brown in his public statement 

The news: In Texas yesterday, Brown was sentenced to 63 months in prison and more than $890,000 in restitution for his proximity to sources in the hacker group Anonymous and for linking to leaked Stratfor documents. Often called the “spokesman” for Anonymous against his wishes, Brown has been detained since his arrest in 2012, and since then has taken a plea deal to reduce his sentence from the decades of charges the prosecution was seeking. Journalists and activists alike agree this is just part of the slippery slope as classified government documents are leaked by hackers and journalists do their job investigating said leaks. As Kevin Gallagher (from the Free Barrett Brown Campaign) told The Guardian, “Any journalist that uses hackers as sources is extremely chilled by this.”

Like the tenacious dissident he is, Brown is now publishing a column from prison. 

From the rest of Brown’s statement: 

For the next 35 months, I’ll be provided with free food, clothes, and housing as I seek to expose wrongdoing by Bureau of Prisons officials and staff and otherwise report on news and culture in the world’s greatest prison system. I want to thank the Department of Justice for having put so much time and energy into advocating on my behalf; rather than holding a grudge against me for the two years of work I put into in bringing attention to a DOJ-linked campaign to harass and discredit journalists like Glenn Greenwald, the agency instead labored tirelessly to ensure that I received this very prestigious assignment. — Wish me luck!”

(via futurejournalismproject)