Charges To Be Dropped Against Raisethefist.com Owner
by Brian McWilliams

Federal charges will be dropped against the teen-aged operator of
anti-government site Raisethefist.com, a spokesperson for the
U.S. attorney's office in central California confirmed today.

Sherman Austin, 18, was arrested Feb. 2 in New York at a demonstration
against the World Economic Forum. He currently is being held in a
federal transfer detention center in Oklahoma City, enroute to his
home state of California.

"We have opted not to seek an indictment at this time. We are
continuing to investigatate the matter, but as of right now, he's off
the hook," said Thomas Mrozek, public affairs officer for the
U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

A self-described anarchist, Austin was charged Feb. 4 with violating
U.S. Code title 18, section 842, which prohibits the publication of
information about making explosives. The teen was also charged with
possession of a Molotov cocktail, which is considered an "unregistered
firearm" by the FBI.

The case is seen by some as a test of First Amendment rights on the
Internet following the terrorist attacks on America on and following
Sept. 11.

In an interview with Newsbytes following the FBI raid last month,
Austin said he was being targeted for his anti-government views and
said, "If I go to jail, then I will go to jail not based on my
actions, but based on what I think."

U.S. marshals accompanied Austin on a flight to Oklahoma City on
Wednesday, and he is expected to travel by air to Los Angeles at some
point in the near future, his attorney Susan Tipograph said.

At a detention hearing Monday, Tipograph expressed concern that
Austin's transfer across the country would be delayed and, having been
branded a "terrorist" by prosecutors, he might be in jeopardy.

"Based on my experience he will take the slow boat to California. He
will stop in county jails across the country, and I am very concerned
for his safety ... in terms of what will happen to him in county jails
in places like Oklahoma City, where the people there have very good
reason to be concerned about terrorists," Tipograph stated, according
to a transcript of the hearing.

Oklahoma City was the site of a 1995 bombing of a federal building
that left 168 people dead. In June 1997, a jury convicted Timothy
McVeigh, who was executed by lethal injection Jun. 11, 2001.

Tipograph said she received no reports that Austin had been mistreated
at the Oklahoma facility. During his nine-day incarceration in
Manhattan, Austin was permitted no phone calls and only one shower and
was kept in a poorly heated cell with no access to reading materials,
she said.

On Jan. 24, heavily armed federal agents executed a search warrant at
Austin's home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and confiscated several
computers, as well as equipment the FBI deemed was intended for making
explosives.

According to prosecutors, the offense of distributing bomb-making
information alone carries a statutory maximum of 20 years
imprisonment.

Austin is expected to be released after his return to California, but
he could still face similar or new charges, Tipograph said.

"He still has the sword of Damocles hanging over him. The government
arrested him out of the blue and then reversed themselves out of the
blue," she said. "Who knows what they're going to do next?"

In the interview with Newsbytes, Austin admitted to hacking into
several Web sites to post anti-government messages.

During the raid, federal agents confiscated equipment used to operate
Raisethefist.com. Tipograph said it was unlikely the systems would be
returned soon due to the ongoing investigation.

Raisethefist.com has been unreachable since around Feb. 1. The FBI has
not directly acknowledged that it shut down the site, but during
Austin's detention hearing assistant US attorney Victor Hou stated
that the site was "was dismantled by the FBI."

Hou noted that Austin's site contained threats to violently disrupt
the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and to harm President Bush.

According to Hou, Austin's behavior following the search of his home
indicated that "his conduct is escalating" and that "this wasn't a
misguided youth. ... This was a man on a mission."

Copies of affidavits and other documents on the case are online at
http://www.cryptome.org

Reported by Newsbytes