Given that the FBI knows that Anonymous hackers have been accessing U.S. Government computers for a year, I find it hard to believe that the following announcement —

Anonymous-Linked Hackers Accessed U.S. Government Computers, FBI Reportedly Warns

— was NOT deliberately timed to coincide with the announcement of the ten year maximum sentence for hacker Jeremy Hammond.

Hacker receives 10-year sentence for “causing mayhem”

Hammond was interviewed by Chris Hedges in prison prior to his sentencing:

Here’s the Hedges interview itself, truthdig:

The Revolutionaries in Our Midst

Excerpts:

“Hammond spoke with the intensity and clarity one would expect from one of the nation’s most important political prisoners.”

. . .

“He said he hoped his act of resistance would encourage others, just as Manning’s courage had inspired him. He said activists should “know and accept the worst possible repercussion” before carrying out an action and should be “aware of mass counterintelligence/surveillance operations targeting our movements.” An informant posing as a comrade, Hector Xavier Monsegur, known online as “Sabu,” turned Hammond and his co-defendants in to the FBI. Monsegur stored data retrieved by Hammond on an external server in New York. This tenuous New York connection allowed the government to try Hammond in New York for hacking from his home in Chicago into a private security firm based in Texas. New York is the center of the government’s probes into cyber-warfare; it is where federal authorities apparently wanted Hammond to be investigated and charged.

“Hammond said he will continue to resist from within prison. A series of minor infractions, as well as testing positive with other prisoners on his tier for marijuana that had been smuggled into the facility, has resulted in his losing social visits for the next two years and spending “time in the box [solitary confinement].” He is allowed to see journalists, but my request to interview him took two months to be approved. He said prison involves “a lot of boredom.” He plays chess, teaches guitar and helps other prisoners study for their GED. When I saw him, he was working on the statement, a personal manifesto, that he will read in court this week.

“He insisted he did not see himself as different from prisoners, especially poor prisoners of color, who are in for common crimes, especially drug-related crimes. He said most inmates are political prisoners, caged unjustly by a system of totalitarian capitalism that has snuffed out basic opportunities for democratic dissent and economic survival.

““The majority of people in prison did what they had to do to survive,” he said. “Most were poor. They got caught up in the war on drugs, which is how you make money if you are poor. The real reason they get locked in prison for so long is so corporations can continue to make big profits. It is not about justice. I do not draw distinctions between us.”

“’Jail is essentially enduring harassment and dehumanizing conditions with frequent lockdowns and shakedowns,’ he said. ‘You have to constantly fight for respect from the guards, sometimes getting yourself thrown in the box. However, I will not change the way I live because I am locked up. I will continue to be defiant, agitating and organizing whenever possible.’

“He said resistance must be a way of life. He intends to return to community organizing when he is released, although he said he will work to stay out of prison. ‘The truth,’ he said, ‘will always come out.’ He cautioned activists to be hyper-vigilant and aware that ‘one mistake can be permanent.’ But he added, ‘Don’t let paranoia or fear deter you from activism. Do the down thing!’