Written By Don Carpenter and Sue Crabtree

We are Treading in murky waters these days.

As our Anonymous comrades are being slowly released from prison, we are learning that each case has it’s own complications and restrictions.

It is no secret that the United States and the Department of Justice is more vindictive toward hackers and anyone associated with Anonymous as opposed to the United Kingdom, but no matter what the case, each one has it’s issues.

We’ve heard from Jake Davis (topiary) and Ryan Akroyd speak about their restrictions. Chris Weathehead court sanctioned restrictions, but those are set to expire soon.

Court Sanctions/Restrictions on Freed anons and Hackers are a clear indication that goevernments (specifically the United States) is attempting to silence activists.

As some of these absurd restrictions are lifted, we see our comrades and other activists stepping up and speaking out stronger than ever.

The Case of Higinio Ochoa (aka Higz/W0rmer) has a new set of absurd court sanctioned restrictions that are being placed on him since he did his time, and “repayed his debt to society released as a free man.”

It is these restrictions we are trying to address with a fundrasing event. Ultimately it is how we all are going to react that we can only hope to change the future of activism, and how all forms of activism are addressed within the legal system.

The case of Higinio Ochoa has several issues. First of all and most saddening is that this activist, both on the streets with OWS and on the keyboard, is a strong individual who is able to inspire no matter where he is. He’s been an inspiration to all who have had the opportunity to communicate with him. His sense of hope for the future and the need for change is found in each email I receive from him. He’s just the kind of activist that the U.S. government would love to silence. This is where we run in to new problems that we’ve yet to come across and are doing our best to resolve for Higz and his family. I hope you take the time to read this because if you believe in the power of the voice, this can easily happen to you if you are arrested:

W0rmer has done his time in prison and we won’t get into the details of being torn from his family and placed In a Federal prison some 1363 miles away from them. This can’t possibly be the closest the BOP can place an inmate from one’s family. Now that it is time for him to be released, we have a new set of problems and hurdles that this man must address. The first issue is getting him home from his more than one and half years in prison. The Bureau Of Prisons toss you a bus ticket and says “Good Luck”. Sad if you ask us that a man who cares so much about others is forced to take a two day bus trip, alone, to check in at a halfway house in Austin, TX

Now comes the interesting part; Hig will be placed on parole and forced to have his internet use monitored at all times.

It seems that the BOP doesn’t have the ability to monitor Hig in his hometown, where he resides with his family, and so his application to be released to home has been denied. Hig was advised that he would need to live at a halfway house in Austin, TX BUT the problem as we understand it is this:

In order for him to be accepted by the halfway house, he must be a resident of Austin, TX. If he has no residence there, he is considered homeless in Austin and the halfway house has the option of not accepting him. So much for the whole reunification process! This is a huge issue for us. We don’t have an exact date of release for Hig but if he doesn’t have a home in Austin, it won’t matter because the BOP has the option of holding him in prison for an additional 5 months. Hig says that he should be released in August and that is the plan but an exact date is not known at the time of this writing.

Please don’t ask if it wouldn’t be easier for him to just stay in prison for 5 more months because first, prison sucks and second, the problem will still be there. Even if he were kept in prison for 5 more months, there is still nowhere for him to go once he is released. The BOP has already denied him the right of returning to his home town as there is no way for him to be monitored there so we are right back to the problem we find ourselves in.

Hig can’t get to the halfway house without a residence in Austin, TX and he can’t even get released from prison without an address in Austin, TX which is the closest the feds can get him to his family and is 3 hours away from them each way. There are no options for Hig other than to get him residence in Austin if we intend to get this man home. There are no options to bring this family back together but to get them to Austin. This, in my opinion is equivalent to the “Carrot and stick approach”. They have something you want but the ability to reach the ultimate goal is nearly unreachable. As activists, we must stop this cycle and work to get our Anons home.

We must support them as we are able and remind them that their efforts and their beliefs are appreciated. We, again in our opinion, have a duty to bring our Anons home and reunite them with their families so they may return to lives that are filled with love and support. This is our duty to our comrades. We do this because we want to and not because we are forced to. We do this out of love and respect. The BOP is offering Hig early release. If he is not able to meet their demands, the dreams of returning home to his beautiful wife and small son are squashed. Imagine how hard that must be to a prisoner who has already been isolated from his family for more than a year and a half already. I’m not here for lack of anything better to do. Sadly, these arrests keep Sue and the folks at Freeanons very busy. We are here because this man has inspired many of us to be here. This man has been so appreciative of the support and it is our duty to see this through and get him home. We ask that you accept this job with us as a show of support for Hig and also as a show of support for his wife who has taken on the role of ‘single parent’ long enough. Thank you to everyone here. This is not a luxury move. This is the only way to get our comrade home. $687 of the $6000 goal to reunite Hig and his family have been met thus far. If anyone can help donate a dollar maybe $2 between all of friends and social networks, This family will be together once more. Let’s not keep another comrade alone in the dark behind bars for 5 more months. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, LET’S BRING OUR BOY HOME Via Mobile Broadcast News