Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, best known for his three presidential bids, offered warm words of praise for Ladar Levison who shut down Lavabit instead of working with the National Security Agency (NSA).

He's lost his main source of income. He's now effectively unemployed, Paul wrote supporters on Thursday. And now that his decision to shut down the secure email service Lavabit has created a media firestorm, Ladar Levison has become an even bigger target for our national security spy state.

While tech companies like Google, Facebook, and others secretly hand over their users' information to government snoops, Ladar Levison is a true patriot who's proven he's willing to stand up and fight for our constitutional freedoms =- even when it's not easy, Paul insisted. Recently, Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer let it slip that when it comes to the NSA, If you don't comply, it's treason.

Paul plans to go to bat for Levison, using a group he chairs to help him. Ladar Levison is embroiled in a major legal fight, and -- he can't say -- my guess is he's experiencing very similar threats right now, Paul wrote. I've instructed Campaign for Liberty to aid his legal case in any way possible -- including financially. I believe Ladar's legal fight could have major legal ramifications down the road."