A British man accused of masterminding what prosecutors labeled the biggest military computer hack of all time is expected to be sent to Alexandria’s federal court for trial, having lost his battle against being sent to the United States.
British prosecutors have chosen not to move forward with a case against Gary McKinnon if he were to stay in his London-area home. McKinnon lost his fight against extradition late last week when Britain’s High Court found it reasonable to send the 43-year-old across the Atlantic. He has lost similar battles in other courts, and this was likely his last chance to prevent it. He faces up to 70 years in prison in the United States.
According to U.S. authorities, McKinnon hacked into 97 U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force computers between February 2001 and March 2002, and took actions that include altering and deleting files at a naval station soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The hacks caused $800,000 in damage, prosecutors said.
McKinnon, who has Asperger Syndrome, has admitted the hacks to authorities, but says he was trying to find classified documents on UFOs.
“I am not blind to criminality, but I was on a moral crusade,” he told the BBC last week. He said he was convinced the U.S. had access to “crashed extra-terrestrial technology which could, in these days, save us in the form of a free, clean, pollution-free energy.”
According to news reports, McKinnon has the support of some high-ranking British politicians. So far, more than 40 members of Parliament have joined McKinnon’s mother in asking President Barack Obama to halt what they described as a “shameful” extradition, the London Telegraph reported.
McKinnon’s lawyers have said authorities have not fully considered the Asperger diagnosis, which would categorize McKinnon’s actions as “eccentric” rather than malicious. They have argued that McKinnon won’t get a fair trial in the United States and will be punished more severely because he contested the extradition.
No date has been set for him to be brought to Alexandria, an official said.
