Slashdot Mirror
Tor Developer Detained At US Border, Pressed On Wikileaks
suraj.sun writes with this news from CNET: "A security researcher involved with the Wikileaks Web site — Jacob Appelbaum, a Seattle-based programmer for the online privacy protection project called Tor — was detained by US agents at the border for three hours and questioned about the controversial whistleblower project as he entered the country on Thursday to attend a hacker conference. He was also approached by two FBI agents at the Defcon conference after his presentation on Saturday afternoon about the Tor Project. Appelbaum, a US citizen, arrived at the Newark, New Jersey, airport from Holland Thursday morning, was taken into a room, frisked and his bag was searched. Officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Army then told him he was not under arrest but was being detained. They asked questions about Wikileaks, asked for his opinions about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and asked where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is, but he declined to comment without a lawyer present, according to the sources. He was not permitted to make a phone call, they said." Appelbaum told me that he just spoke at length with The New York Times, and quipped that his Defcon talk about Tor was "just fine, until the FBI showed up"; this post will likely be updated with more details.
Update: 08/02 03:59 GMT by T : Here's the NYT's coverage.
SO MUCH ANONYMITY FAGGOT HIPPIES!
The posting of the classified info via Wikileaks was a crime. A large number of Afghan informants had their names exposed and will probably be killed (and/or have family or friends killed or used for extortion) before we can safely (and expensively) extricate them.
Quit whining and start taking responsibility for your actions. And understand that when your associates do illegal things, you're going to get questioned about it on re-entry into the US.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
Pretty much every country on earth will allow someone to be detained for 3 hours. Days would be unreasonable, hours is not.
Idiot.
Where does it mention anywhere that his opinions were a crime? It's called interrogation, they're trying to establish his mindset. Couldn't resist a chance to bash The Man though.
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED HERE
You do know your beloved FDR's administration originally came up with the "Enemy Combatant" designation for German saboteurs and spies in the US during World War II and it's not some newfangled Bushism, right? No, you probably didn't. Not that makes it right or anything, but its not like they pulled this out of their ass for the current adventurist pursuit.
Breaking the law would mean he was a citizen.
Heh.
Appelbaum, a US citizen
More like dual citizen of the US and Israel.
Whenever the US gets stabbed in the back, look for the Jew!
They had a reason, possible treason. It wasn't a random detention.
Gone!
this is true but FISHING for a resin like they were doing ISN'T a resin
I can not wait to hear what the idiots at Slashtard err Slashdot think about this! Wait, yes I can.
Get a life you inbred idiots.
1) The united states is at war in Afghanistan
2) Wikileaks leaked secret documents about the war in afghanistan in a reckless manner that possibly endangered lives of our allies
and soldiers on the battlefield.
3) A 3 hour border detention is less than someone would be detained for unpaid parking tickets. They did not arrest him. They could have
easily arrested him as a material witness.
4) Given that he was allowed to go on to his conference and he was not questioned further without his lawyer present...I just dont see the story here
other than its geek-celebrity news.
5) He was allowed to leave the country after his conference, not exactly what police states do.
Mr. Applebaum doesn't act like an innocent victim of human rights abuses. He acts like an uncooperative witness who flees at the first sign of oppurtunity.
It sounds like the FBI agents were genuinely trying to hear his side of the story about his rights being trampled
having been at the conference for other reasons.
"Hostile attitude, disrespect for law enforcement officers "
I have an easy answer to that.
"Officer (or agent, whichever the situation calls for,) you are aware that multiple state and federal Supreme Courts have ruled that I have a lawful right to use of lethal force in defense against an unconscionable arrest, are you not? Either you let me go now or I'm going to have to stand in front of a judge to once again get that fact reaffirmed."
Memphis cops HATED me. And the FBI, when they tried the same sort of bullshit with me in high school, back when Columbine happened, they REALLY didn't like it, either. Guess what? I'm still here, and they leave me the fuck alone.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
As i feel the U.S. Soldier(I'm a US Citizen) that leaked that classified footage should be tried by court marshal(he was a US Soldier in a US Military facility therefore it shouldn't be a civilian court) for treason, and executed by a firing squad should he be found guilty.
I, with my Libertarian viewpoint, also feel that we should close all foreign bases, and put the tax dollars into researching military and space technology(for military and exploratory purposes.) That way we can increase our ability to defend ourselves from foreign attack, in addition to developing better technology.
That said, I still agree with the above poster. Lives are still being endangered, and most people probably don't care about reading those documents: except people that dislike the US Government.
is this not a whistleblower scenario?
No. A whistle blower would have provided only the excerpts required to make his case and trigger the investigation.
This asshat is accused of releasing documents that endanger the lives of Afghan nationals assisting the coalition forces and coalition service members. If found guilty, he deserves to spend the rest of his life doing hard labor in Federal PMITA prison.