Lauri Love will be extradited to the US to face charges related to his alleged involvement in #OpLastResort, a UK judge has ruled today.
Speaking at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this afternoon, Judge Nina Tempia said: “I will be extraditing Mr Love, by which I mean I will be passing the case to the Secretary of State.”
The ruling, which lasted under five minutes, was attended by Love, his parents, and around 40 supporters. Leaving court, some of his supporters derided the decision, shouting: “Bullshit, kangaroo court!”
Love, a 31-year-old electrical engineering student, is set to face three separate trials in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. #OpLastResort was a series of online protests that followed the death of Aaron Swartz in early 2013. Love is accused of hacking US systems including some belonging to NASA and the FBI and could face a prison sentence of up to 99 years in the US.
Love was advised that he has a 14-day leave to appeal, which would see the case go to the High Court. Outside court, Love’s legal team confirmed they would be lodging an appeal.
Love himself said, “I’m not going to comment too much, because I haven’t read [the full ruling], and I have to. I want to thank everyone for their support, and to thank the judge for giving us the opportunity to win at a higher court and set a stronger precedent. I think this only helps the cause of supporting better justice, but it’s unfortunate for me and my family that we have to go through another six months or a year of legal stuff, but it’s what we have to do.”
The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry 