| Barrett Brown, who has served as a spokesman for various Anonymous hacking operations, was arrested last night during a raid on his home while he was in the middle of an online chat.
He was taken into custody by the Dallas County Sheriff's Department shortly before 11 p.m. CT but was in the custody of the FBI by midday today, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department told CNET.
She said she didn't know why he was taken into custody, saying only that no offenses were listed in the report. An FBI spokeswoman said she did not yet have details on the case.
Jay Leiderman, an attorney who is part of Brown's legal team, told CNET that Brown is being charged with threatening a federal agent. Brown is being detained, which is the equivalent of being held without bail, in a federal detention center just outside of Dallas, Leiderman said.
A video of the chat session shows Brown chatting with several people, including one wearing the Guy Fawkes "V for Vendetta" mask that's become the symbol of Anonymous. At one point Barrett gets up from his computer and is no longer visible. Then in the background shouts can be heard, along with what sounds like a scuffle. "Get your hands down!" one voice says. The other chat participants begin laughing and speculating that Brown's house is getting raided. Read More .. |