Members of the hacker group Anonymous posted revealing pictures that they say are of BART spokesman Linton Johnson, who has spoken out against the hacktivist's group's planned protests against the transit agency.
The photos, posted to a Website broadcast via Anonymous on Twitter, show a black man that looks like Johnson with his pants partially down, together with other photos. At the bottom of the page, a phone number, purportedly for Johnson, is listed, together with a link to his Web site , where photos of his marriage to another man are posted. No one responded to a voice mail message left on the phone number.
"If you are going to be a d--- to the public, then Im sure you dont mind showing your d--- to the public.... Umad Bro? #Bartlulz" the message on the page states.
A spokesman for BART, the San Francisco transit system, told the SFWeekly that the photos were "illegal," as well as unethical.
On Wednesday, BART directors said they planned a new cell-phone policy in response to an Aug. 11 protest, itself a response to a July 11 protest of the shooting of Charles Hill at the Civic Center station in San Francisco. During the Aug. 11 protest, BART turned off underground cellular service to four stations . The organization owns the underground network equipment, and it has the power to, and did, turn off the wireless signals it provides for transit riders.
BART cited its concerns for the public's safety as justification for switching off the network. However, that didn't sit well with some citizens, including members of Anonymous, the online hacking group.
In a statement, the group pledged to keep organizing "OpBART" protests every Monday until its demands were met. Those included the firing of Johnson and BART chief Kenton Rainey, new training for all BART officers, a public apology for shutting down cell phone service, to remove guns from BART police, and to reopen the investigation into the death of Charles Hill.
"We are Anonymous, over the past two weeks we have proven that we stand by what we believe," the group said. "You have threatened to shut down cell phone service if needed again, although your threats went empty, the dictator like tactics did not go unnoticed by the world. BART police are becoming increasingly aggressive at the protest, and peaceful protesters are being arrested for 'being too loud'. We will continue to show the world why #OpBART is necessary."
Anonymous, a loose-knit group of individuals that jealously protect their anonymity online, have leaked user names and addresses of the mybart.org Web site. Public opinion in San Francisco, however, seems to be turning against the protesters .
Last night, an Anonymous-affiliated Web site indicated that a forthcoming target might be the United States Congress, in response to S. 978 that would make streaming content a felony .
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