Request Media Kit

Aaron Swartz’ Charges Officially Dropped By Justice Department [Report]

Programmer and Internet activist Aaron Swartz was found dead in a Brooklyn apartment on Friday after hanging himself. It’s been the talk of the Internet all weekend and into Monday. Today, The H...
Aaron Swartz’ Charges Officially Dropped By Justice Department [Report]
Written by Chris Crum
  • Programmer and Internet activist Aaron Swartz was found dead in a Brooklyn apartment on Friday after hanging himself. It’s been the talk of the Internet all weekend and into Monday.

    Today, The Hill is reporting that the Justice Department has dropped its charges against Swartz, as is reportedly standard in cases in which the defendant dies.

    Swartz had been indicted in 2011 for allegedly downloading millions of documents from JSTOR using an MIT network, with intent to distribute. He was looking at three decades in prison, and after his lawyer was unable to get federal prosecutors to budge with regards to a plea bargain, Swartz took his own life.

    Swartz’s family put out a statement blaming the justice system for his suicide.

    MIT, meanwhile, put out a statement of its own saying it will be investigating its role in the case.

    Swartz was 26 years old.

    More on the story here.

    Get the WebProNews newsletter
    delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit