The U.S. is Going After Bradley Manning’s Friends, So David House Trolled Them Back

The U.S. is Going After Bradley Manning’s Friends, So David House Trolled Them Back

The trial of U.S. Army private Bradley Manning doesn’t begin until September. But since the former intelligence analyst was placed under military detention over 800 days ago, accused of prying thousands of secret diplomatic cables and one notorious video from military servers and feeding them to WikiLeaks, Manning’s case has been mired in a swamp of controversy and secrecy.

In March of 2011, Hilary Clinton’s spokesperson called the government’s treatment of Manning “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid,” echoing the concerns of the United Nations and Human Rights Watch, before he was forced to step down. And the case has been cloaked in a kind of secrecy that’s been compared by some observersto that around the trial of Lt. William Calley for his role in the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. Except for scant leaks from the trial itself, all motions, briefs and transcripts of the proceedings have been kept under tight lock and key, even as the government has released transcripts from the hearing of September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Manning’s not alone. The slew of constitutional crusaders, activists and hackers who have come publicly to Manning’s defense and questioned his treatment have also found themselves in the government’s crosshairs. And one of them is trying to fight back by hacking away at the proceedings’ unusual cloak of silence.