Barrett Brown
- therobotpanda
- Feb 14
- 1 min read
Barrett Brown (born 1981) is an American journalist, essayist, and activist best known for his association with the hacktivist collective Anonymous and for founding Project PM, a crowdsourced investigation into the cyber-industrial complex. He was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison in 2015 after sharing a link to data stolen from intelligence firm Stratfor and threatening an FBI agent.
Key details regarding Barrett Brown include:
Journalism and Activism: Brown has written for The Guardian, The Intercept, and Vanity Fair, often focusing on surveillance and intelligence contracting. He founded Project PM to analyze leaked information.
The Stratfor Case: In 2012, his home was raided by the FBI. He was indicted on12 charges, including for posting a hyperlink to previously stolen information in a chatroom, a case that drew significant concern from press freedom advocates.
Legal Outcome: Although many charges were dropped, he was sentenced in 2015 for threatening a federal agent, obstruction of justice, and accessory to the handling of stolen data. He was released in 2016.
Awards and Recognition: While incarcerated, he won the 2016 National Magazine Award for his column, "The Barrett Brown Review of Arts and Letters and Prison".
Identity: Often described as an unofficial spokesperson for Anonymous, he has disputed this label, preferring to be considered an independent researcher and journalist.
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