Courage joins international coalition to defend the accused NSA truthteller
Today, Stand With Reality, a support group for alleged NSA truth teller Reality Winner, launches in the United States at StandWithReality.org
Reality Winner, a 25-year-old US Air Force veteran, is charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly disclosing a classified NSA report to news outlet The Intercept, and she needs our help. The alleged truthteller is scheduled to face trial on October 23.
The Espionage Act is a century-old statute which carries a potential 10-year prison sentence and chills protected, journalistic activity, discouraging sources and reporters alike from working together. The Obama Administration used the law repeatedly against leakers to the media, and President Trump has threatened to go even further, preparing charges against journalists in addition to their sources. The Trump Administration’s first Espionage Act prosecution must be met with substantial, organized opposition.
The Intercept article based on the NSA report Winner is alleged to have disclosed reveals that the GRU (Russian military intelligence) attempted to infiltrate the software of VR Systems, an American voting machine supplier in eight states and sent phishing emails to over 100 local election officials in the days leading up to the 2016 Presidential election. This information is obviously in the public interest; whoever brought it to the public record should be protected, not prosecuted.
Courage joins the Stand with Reality coalition hosted by Courage to Resist, the US-based organization for soldiers who resist or otherwise oppose war. These collective efforts aim to fund Winner’s legal defense team, led by Titus Nichols.
Nichols told Courage,
On behalf of Ms. Reality Winner I want to thank you and others for the outpouring of support that you all have given to Ms. Winner during her current legal situation.
Stand with Reality! Sign the petition to drop the charges against her, donate to her legal defense fund, and spread these links to raise awareness about her case: