On June 30, 2003, raisethefist.com founder/webmaster Sherman Austin went to court for sentencing, which was expected to be 4 months in jail, and 4 months in a community corrections facility which was recommended by the USPO and prosecutors.

Austin's lawyer (public defender Ron Kaye) opened up with an introduction consistent on stating he was a non-violent person who knowingly realized he acted immaturely at the time of posting the "reclaim guide" to his site when he was 18 (he is 20 now). His lawyer further stressed how Austin went under a psychological examination by an expert. In the analysis the psychologist found Austin to be non-violent by nature, but unaware of what the consequences could be if the posted information was access by someone wanting to hurt others. The psychologist recommended Austin do community service rather than be put in a violent atmosphere such as jail.

The Judge had a different plans.

After a few minutes into the introduction, Judge Wilson expressed how he felt the sentencing range should be based on the crime not on the psychological analysis. The atmosphere of the court room immediately turned political as he stated "this should be looked at with more of a deterrence outcome to future Revolutionaries wanting act in a similar manner". Judge Wilson then criticized the prosecutors for agreeing to a plea that was only 4 months in jail, stating "out of all the nonsense cases you bring me, you finally bring something serious but don't take it serious".

Austin's lawyer tried to assure the Judge that he was not a violent person and that the psychological evaluation report attached to the pre-sentencing indicated that Austin was indeed a non-violent person, the prosecutor stated how the recommended sentence of 4 months in jail and 4 months in community corrections seemed appropriate, however the judge didn't care.

He expressed his wanting to make an example out of Austin by saying this case should be looked at with more of a deterrence outcome for those wanting to act the same as Austin in the future.

Judge Wilson stated 4 months jail time was too little punishment, and said he wanted Austin to serve at least 8-10 months jail time. But before making his final decision, he said he wanted to hear the opinion and recommendation coming directly from the FBI. No, not from the FBI agents working on the case, but the head Director of the FBI, Robert S. Muller, and the Justice Department in Washington, DC.

Austin's sentencing was rescheduled to June 28th.











Raise the Fist was started in Los Angeles, CA by Sherman Austin on President's Day of 2000. At the time the site was run off a home DSL line and a small computer network which Austin maintained. Over time as the site developed, it started catching the attention of authorities who began monitoring the site daily. As the site began to get more popular, the FBI and Secret Service decided to shut it down by raiding Austin's home with 25 heavily armed FBI and Secret service agents under the U.S Patriot Act with the excuse of a protest manual referred to as the "reclaim guide" being posted to his web site which contained information on the manufacture of common-knowledge explosive devices.

A week later Austin was arrested by the FBI for distribution of information related to explosives over the internet, and spent 13 days in maximum security federal jail until being released with prosecutors deciding not to file an indictment.

Immediately after Austin's release, he got the site back online despite the repression from authorities. Since then the site has grown and expanded into a network with chapters set up around the U.S, and soon internationally.

6 months later federal prosecutors decided they weren't going to let Austin off the hook and presented him with a pre-indictment binding plea. Either Austin was to take the plea or risk a potential 22 years in federal prison.

Austin is being charged with a felony conviction: FELONY 18 U.S.C. 842 (p)(2)(A): DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO EXPLOSIVES, DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WITH THE INTENT THAT SUCH INFORMATION BE USED IN FURTHERANCE OF A FEDERAL CRIME OF VIOLENCE. Austin entered a plea with a sentencing range between 8-14 months. If going to trial Austin faces a potential "Terrorism Enhancement" which can add an additional 20 years to his sentence.