Aaron Swartz
For some background on the case, Wikipedia explains:
Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet Hacktivist.
Swartz was involved in the development of the web feed format RSS, the organization Creative Commons, the website framework web.py and the social news site, Reddit, in which he became a partner after its merger with his company, Infogami. Swartz’s later work focused on sociology, civic awareness and activism.
He helped launch the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in 2009 to learn more about effective online activism. In 2010 he became a research fellow at Harvard University’s Safra Research Lab on Institutional Corruption, directed by Lawrence Lessig.
He founded the online group Demand Progress, known for its campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act. On January 6, 2011, Swartz was arrested by MIT police on state breaking-and-entering charges, after systematically downloading academic journal articles from JSTOR. Federal prosecutors later charged him with two counts of wire fraud and 11 violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, carrying a cumulative maximum penalty of $1 million in fines, 35 years in prison, asset forfeiture, restitution and supervised release.
Swartz declined a plea bargain under which he would serve six months in federal prison. Two days after the prosecution rejected a counter-offer by Swartz, he was found dead in his Brooklyn, New York apartment, where he had hanged himself.
In June 2013, Swartz was posthumously inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.
Originally, this page was setup to house the FBI File of Aaron Swartz – however, the Secret Service also released a cache of records pertaining to the internet activist.
Below, you will find the FBI File, and the records released by the Secret Service thus far.
Secret Service Response to Request for Aaron Swartz’ Records Part 12 (Not yet released by the Secret Service)
This post was published on February 12, 2020 6:00 am
A newly released set of FBI records obtained by The Black Vault through a May…
A document released from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), obtained under the Freedom of Information…
Background Welcome to the FBI Files on Historical Figures & Groups archive at The Black…
Welcome to the FBI Files on American Military Personnel archive at The Black Vault. This…
This article was originally published June 5, 2024. It was updated on May 7, 2025,…
Following a surge of more than 5,000 drone sighting reports in New Jersey in late…
