Federal charges dropped

Federal charges will be 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.

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

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."

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

www.newsbytes.com