Policy

Aaron Swartz Prosecutors Threatened and Hacked

Angry e-mails and snail mail

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Massachusetts federal authorities involved in the prosecution of Aaron Swartz have received threatening e-mail and snail mail, the Justice Department said in a court filing, while the lead prosecutor in the case had his Facebook page hacked.

Swartz was found dead at his Brooklyn apartment in January after committing suicide. The 26-year-old internet sensation was under indictment in Massachusetts for more than a dozen counts of computer hacking and wire fraud in connection to the downloading of millions of academic articles from a subscription database from MIT's campus.

His death had ignited calls to reshape federal hacking laws while many suggested prosecutors went too far and were harassing Swartz into taking a plea or face a stiff prison sentence.