Alleged Hacker Back in Slammer, Says Judge Jailed Him for Criticizing FBI

Justin Shafer's blog post landed him behind bars.The North Richland Hills man had been free after being arrested in March for alleged online stalking and harassment of an FBI agent who was trying to link him to a notorious computer hacker or hacking group called TheDarkOverlord.Among the conditions of his release -- avoid posting on social media like Facebook and Twitter.Shafer, 37, criticized the FBI agent online 12 days later -- but in a blog post. The federal probation department cited that as a reason to revoke Shafer's release. A federal magistrate agreed and ordered him to be held in custody until his trial.Now, Shafer's attorney is trying to get him out, claiming the government unconstitutionally violated his client's Free Speech rights."Mr. Shafer has a First Amendment right to criticize his prosecution and rebut the accusations made against him," said his New York lawyer, Tor Ekeland, in an appeal of that judge's order."Mr. Shafer did not lose his free speech rights simply by being accused of a crime," Ekeland said in the motion. "If that were the case, the government could chill the speech of any critic it wanted simply by charging a crime."  Continue reading...