30-year sentence for transporting zines is a five-alarm fire for free speech(theintercept.com)
704 points by xrd 1 day ago | 434 comments
tl;dr: Daniel Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for transporting anarchist zines allegedly to conceal evidence tied to his wife's case—she received 70 years in connection with a protest where a police officer was shot, though she wasn't accused of the shooting. The case is the first prosecution under Trump's NSPM-7 "counterterrorism" memo targeting leftist dissent, and the DOJ has signaled more cases will follow, including warrants seeking YouTube subscriber identities for journalists covering protests. Critics warn the prosecutions effectively criminalize possessing political literature and shared ideology.
HN Discussion:
  • Sentence is extreme regardless, signaling a dangerous shift in judicial willingness to punish dissent
  • Hiding evidence after being asked to is legitimate accessory crime; article omits context and is partisan
  • ~Sentences are excessive but the underlying violent acts make this less of a free speech issue than portrayed
  • Outcome reflects judge-shopping and a politicized justice system rather than fair process
  • Questions and information-seeking about case details and broader implications for US dissent