The FBI conducted 40 raids yesterday and seized computers from members of the loosely organized group of hackers called Anonymous, and several members have posted their stories in online forums.
Ars Technica uncovered the tales on a private online forum. Several people posted pictures of kicked-in doors. One person claimed that the FBI busted down his door and pointed *REAL GUNS* at him. (What kind of guns did he think they used?) The FBI apparently seized all the computers in each house, plus other electronic gear like game consoles and iPhones.
The reports could be fake, or exaggerated, but the FBI did serve 40 warrants in the case yesterday.
The FBI was collecting evidence in the group's denial of service attacks against MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, and Amazon. The group attacked the sites in retaliation for their actions against WikiLeaks, which released classified US diplomatic cables in December.
Denial of service attacks are annoying to their victims, and can cause real financial damage. They are also against the law -- that's not in dispute.
But Anonymous suspects a political motive in the raid. As the group pointed out in a press release after UK officials arrested five members there, similar denial of service attacks were carried out against WikiLeaks itself, but "nobody has been arrested in connection with these attacks, nor are there even any signs of an investigation into this issue at all."
The attacks are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to the FBI.
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