If you thought the amorphous hacktivist collective known as Anonymous was done avenging the suicide of Aaron Swartz, think again. In an email blast sent to their community, as well as a message posted on their website, the group announced plans to disrupt President Obama’s State of the Union address and prevent it from live-streaming on the Internet. “[Tonight] we will face down the largest superpower on Earth. And we will win!” the message reads. “There will be no State of the Union Address on the web tonight.” The group cites a variety of motivations, including “freedom” and “Arran Swartz,” claiming that Obama’s failure to stop the “idiotic and destructive efforts to control the last free space on Earth,” is unconstitutional.
Text of message from "Anonymous" follows:
Citizens of the Internet,
Last year we faced our greatest threat from lawmakers. We faced down SOPA, PIPA, CISPA and ACTA.
And we won!
But that victory did not come easily. Nor did it come without a price.
Aaron Swartz was one of the leading voices in the fight against these idiotic and destructive efforts to control the last free space on Earth.
Aaron Swartz was persecuted. Now Aaron Swartz is dead.
Tonight, the President of the United States will appear before a joint session of Congress to deliver the State of the Union Address and tomorrow he plans to sign an executive order for cyber-security as the House Intelligence committee reintroduces the defeated CISPA act which turns private companies into government informants.
He will not be covering the NDAA, an act of outright tyrannical legislation allowing for indefinite detention of citizens completely outside due process and the rule of law. In fact, lawyers for the government have point-blank refused to state whether or not journalists who cover stories or groups the Government disfavors would be subject to this detention.
He will not be covering the extra-judicial and unregulated justifications for targeted killings of citizens by military drones within the borders of America, or the fact that Orwellian newspeak had to be used to make words like “imminent” mean their opposite.
He will not be covering Bradley Manning, 1000 days in detention with no trial for revealing military murders, told that his motive for leaking cannot be taken into consideration, that the Government does not have room for conscience.
He will not be covering the secret interpretations of law that allow for warrant-less wiretapping and surveillance of any US citizen without probably cause of criminal acts, or the use of Catch-22 logic where no-one can complain about being snooped on because the state won’t tell you who they’re snooping on, and if you don’t know you’re being snooped on, you don’t have a right to complain.
We reject the State of the Union. We reject the authority of the President to sign arbitrary orders and bring irresponsible and damaging controls to the Internet.
The President of the United States of America, and the Joint Session of Congress will face an Army tonight.
We will form a virtual blockade between Capitol Hill and the Internet. Armed with nothing more than Lulz, Nyancat and PEW-PEW-PEW! Lazers, we will face down the largest superpower on Earth.
And we will win!
There will be no State of the Union Address on the web tonight.
For freedom, for Aaron Swartz, for the Internet, and of course, for the lulz.
We Are Anonymous,
We Are Legion,
We Do Not forgive,
We Do Not forget,
Expect Us.
Well, I didn't really want to see Ted Nugent on my TV anyways...
