MOSCOW, January 28 - RAPSI. Infamous hacker group Anonymous replaced the contents of the US Sentencing Commission website over the weekend with a presentation lambasting US authorities for the suicide of programming mastermind Aaron Schwartz.

A statement widely attributed to the organization declares: “Two weeks ago today, a line was crossed. Two weeks ago today, Aaron Swartz was killed. Killed because he faced an impossible choice. Killed because he was forced into playing a game he could not win - a twisted and distorted perversion of justice - a game where the only winning move was not to play.”

As part of the attack, referred to as “Operation Last Resort,” Anonymous announced that it would launch the first of multiple “warheads.”

According to the statement, the first of these warheads could prove devastating: “We have not taken this action lightly, nor without consideration of the possible consequences. Should we be forced to reveal the trigger-key to this warhead, we understand that there will be collateral damage. We appreciate that many who work within the justice system believe in those principles that it has lost, corrupted, or abandoned, that they do not bear the full responsibility for the damages caused by their occupation.”

The statement added, “It is our hope that this warhead need never be detonated.”

The first warhead contained files named after each of the US Supreme Court justices.

Explaining the decision by Anonymous to pursue the USSC website, the statement explains that the motivation was largely symbolic: “the federal sentencing guidelines which enable prosecutors to cheat citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed right to a fair trial, by a jury of their peers - the federal sentencing guidelines which are in clear violation of the 8th amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishments,” noting as well its decision to take aim at the types of visitors frequenting the USSC website.

Schwartz’ suicide prompted a massive public outcry. The 26-year-old had devoted much of his programming brilliance to advocating for free information on the Internet. Amidst efforts to provide access to documents contained in massive academic database JSTOR, he was arrested and charged with “wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer, and recklessly damaging a protected computer,” according to a press release issued by the Massachusetts US Attorneys’ office. He faced up to 35 years in prison, or a fine of up to $1 million if convicted.

According to a statement on Schwartz’ memorial website, he hanged himself in his Brooklyn, New York apartment on January 11, 2013. His family placed the blame in the hands of the US Attorney’s office and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): “Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.”