Hacktivist group Anonymous (sometimes known as Anon) has just hacked and taken down the websites of the Minneapolis Police Department and the city of Minneapolis, stating that unless justice was delivered for George Floyd that they would reveal the deepest darkest secrets of the US government.
The attack was followed up by an Anonymous video that was posted online. In the classic Anon style the individual appeared in front of the camera wearing a V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask. In the statement the individual, with distorted voice, said:
“This week’s brutal killing of George Floyd, which has sparked protests and national outrage, is just the tip of the iceberg in a long list of high profile cases of wrongful deaths at the hands of officers in your state … These officers must face criminal charges. And officer Chauvin especially should face murder charges. Unfortunately, we do not trust your corrupt organization to carry out justice, so we will be exposing your many crimes to the world. We are a legion. Expect us.”
The video also claimed that:
“The police are there to enforce the rule of the elite ruling class” – and not to protect citizens they have sworn to protect.
OKAY I FEEL LIKE WE ARE IN A MOVIE BUT HELL MEN ANONYMOUS WILL SHOW NO MERCY JUST LIKE YOU DID. HAVE A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE. #Anonymousisback pic.twitter.com/UaxoaSbLgQ
— Marthina (@Monstarvas) May 31, 2020
One officer has already been charged and three others are expected to be charged with lesser crimes later today.
In other activities it has been reported, though unconfirmed, that Anonymous hacked into the Chicago Police Depts. radio system and continually played N.W.A.s rap classic ‘Fu*k Da Police’. A twitter account
tweeted an alleged hijacked radio in operation:
Hijacked chicago police radio plays NWA's "Fuck The Police" pic.twitter.com/I3NWWYZwem
— doomer zoomer (@doomerzoomeer) May 31, 2020
Anonymous emerged in the early 2000s and is believed to have stemmed from internet message boards – in the past it has carried out high-profile hacking operations against Mastercard, the FBI, the Ku Klux Klan and PayPal. They were also prominent in the Arab Spring uprisings where they shut down multiple Middle Eastern government’s tech systems in response to government crackdowns and censorship by those regimes.
This is not even the first time that Anonymous have targeted attacks in response to police killings. In 2014 they targeted the website of Ferguson City Hall in response to the police killing of Michael Brown who had been shot dead by a police officer and which also resulted in widespread rioting.
The group which appears to be decentralised and lacking leadership focuses its attacks on those they perceive to be silencing critics, committing human-rights abuses and acting in an anti-humanistic manner – though it does not appear to have any strict ideology.
Not all Anonymous activists have got away with their actions however, Deric Lostutter received 2 years in federal prison and James Robinson have previously received 6 years for hacks associated with the group.
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