{{Short description|Former U.S. intelligence analyst and sex offender}} {{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Matt Paul DeHart | image_size = 200px | image = Matt DeHart, Canada, 2014 - Courtesy of Matt DeHart's Parents.png | alt = Image of Matt DeHart | caption = Matt DeHart in Canada c. 2014 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1984|06|11}} | birth_place = | other_names = | occupation = Former intelligence analyst | years_active = 2008-2009 | criminal_charges = Receiving child pornography.<br /> 2 Counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Images (Victim U18).<br /> Failing to appear as ordered in court | criminal_penalty = 72 months for the porn charges plus 18 months for fleeing the country. | criminal_status = }}
'''Matt Paul DeHart''' (born June 11, 1984) is an American citizen and former U.S. Air National Guard intelligence analyst and a registered sex offender.<ref name="business.nh.gov" /> He has made several unconfirmed claims, including that he received classified documents alleging the CIA was involved in the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States and that the government used child pornography charges to frame him for possession of state secrets.<ref name="Kushner_3/20/2015" />
In 2010, he was indicted for possession of child pornography<ref name="Kushner_3/20/2015">{{Cite web | last=Kushner | first=David | url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidkushner/matt-dehart#.lhxx95VyB |title=I Might Have Some Sensitive Files | date=March 20, 2015 | publisher=BuzzFeed |access-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901225839/https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidkushner/matt-dehart#.lhxx95VyB |url-status=live }}</ref> and spent 21 months in prison while awaiting trial.<ref name="Hacker">{{cite web|last=Humphreys|first=Adrian|date=May 2014|title=Hacker, Creeper, Soldier, Spy|url=https://nationalpost.com/hacker-creeper-soldier-spy-the-story-of-matt-dehart|access-date=2014-08-16|publisher=National Post|location=Toronto}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/matthew-paul-dehart-anonymous-canada_n_3915547.html|title=Matthew Paul DeHart, Self-Described Anonymous Member, Says Child Porn Charges Are Government Ruse|first=Hunter|last=Stuart|publisher=Huffington Post|date=September 23, 2013|access-date=August 16, 2014|archive-date=August 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085717/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/matthew-paul-dehart-anonymous-canada_n_3915547.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After being released on bail in 2012, he unsuccessfully sought asylum in Canada, claiming he had been tortured by the FBI with regards to the classified documents. In November 2015 he struck a plea bargain to serve a {{frac|7|1|2}}-year sentence.<ref name="plea" /> He was released from prison in October 2019.
== Early life and education ==
From an early age, DeHart was a tech geek. He started a group called KAOS (Kaos Anti-Security Operations Syndicate) in 2000. He graduated from high school in 2002.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/pdfy-QkgbBZ6svikno57g |title=227044191-FBI-Document.pdf (PDFy mirror) |date=2014-01-01 |language=English}}</ref> He took classes through Corning Community College;<ref name="scribd.com" /> BOCES, Horseheads New York;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gstboces.org/ |title=BOCES, Horseheads New York |access-date=2015-03-25 |archive-date=2015-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330130628/http://www.gstboces.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and IVY Tech Indianapolis, Indiana.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ivytech.edu/indianapolis/ |title=IVY Tech Indianapolis |access-date=2015-03-25 |archive-date=2015-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324011355/http://www.ivytech.edu/indianapolis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2004, he spent time on 4chan, a message board which gave birth to Anonymous. Besides socializing and gaming online, DeHart developed interests in encryption, internet freedom and privacy. In 2008, he took part in Project Chanology, Anonymous' anti-Scientology campaign.<ref name="np1">{{cite news|last1=Humphreys|first1=Adrian|date=2014|title=Hacker, creeper, soldier, spy|url=https://nationalpost.com/matt-dehart-claims-hes-wanted-for-working-with-anonymous|url-status=live|access-date=16 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117012510/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/|archive-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>
== Career ==
In 2008, DeHart enlisted in the U.S. Air National Guard, becoming an intelligence analyst.<ref>[http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/2/will-matt-dehart-be-the-next-victim-of-the-war-on-leaks.html "Will Matt DeHart be the next victim of the war on leaks?", Janus Kopfstein, February 25, 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302044245/http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/2/will-matt-dehart-be-the-next-victim-of-the-war-on-leaks.html |date=March 2, 2015 }}, Al Jazeera America</ref> In June 2009, he was discharged from the National Guard, with an honorable discharge, as a consequence of a diagnosis of depression. DeHart says after his superiors had learned about his activism he had been offered a lump sum if he resigned but he had refused to do so.<ref name="scribd.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/227044191/FBI-Document |title=FBI Document | PDF | Identity Document | Espionage |access-date=2017-09-10 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306192935/https://www.scribd.com/doc/227044191/FBI-Document |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nationalpost.com/matt-dehart-claims-hes-wanted-for-working-with-anonymous |title="Hacker, creeper, soldier, spy", Adrian Humphreys, National Post, April 2014 |access-date=2014-08-16 |archive-date=2021-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117012554/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/spionage-vorwurf-fbi-verlangt-matthew-deharts-auslieferung-a-1019667.html US-Dissident DeHart: Vom Elitekämpfer zum Staatsfeind, Holger Stark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812120027/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/spionage-vorwurf-fbi-verlangt-matthew-deharts-auslieferung-a-1019667.html |date=2015-08-12 }}, Spiegel Online, February 25, 2015</ref>
== Timeline of events ==
=== Receipt of documents ===
DeHart was involved in online activities with a small group 'Anonymous Anti-Security' using the anonymity network Tor.<ref name="Hacker" /> As a part of these activities, DeHart ran a dead drop server named 'The Shell', on a computer in his bedroom.<ref name="Hacker" /> In September 2009, while monitoring the server, DeHart claims to have found an unencrypted folder containing hundreds of documents, including one detailing what looked like an FBI investigation into some particularly shady deeds by the CIA.<ref name="Hacker" /> He deleted the unencrypted folder from the server, but claims to have kept screenshots.<ref name="Hacker" /> Shortly afterwards he claims to have found an encrypted version of the same file placed on another hidden server he believes was meant for WikiLeaks.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Humphreys|first=Adrian|date=2015-03-01|title=Hacker, creeper, soldier, spy: The bizarre story of Matt DeHart|language=en|work=National Post|url=https://nationalpost.com/hacker-creeper-soldier-spy-the-story-of-matt-dehart|access-date=2022-01-22}}</ref>
DeHart claimed the "document dropped onto his Tor server included details of FBI's investigation into CIA's possible role in the anthrax attack". DeHart said the CIA staged the attacks to draw the US into a war with Iraq.<ref name="Kushner_3/20/2015" />
On January 22, 2010, DeHart claims to have received a 'pretty detailed tip' from an associate who claims they were asked about the server by the FBI related to the file from a few months previously. At this point, he shut down his server entirely and claims to have destroyed its hard drives.<ref name=Hacker />
=== Initial charges and indictment ===
On August 9, 2010, DeHart was brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk and charged with coercing two teenage boys in Tennessee into sending him nude photos and videos they made of themselves at his request, and that he impersonated a teenage girl in order to acquire sexual images from other underage boys.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harrison|first=Judy|date=2010-08-09|title=Maine detains Indiana man in child-porn case|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2010/08/09/news/bangor/maine-detains-indiana-man-in-childporn-case/|access-date=2022-01-22|website=Bangor Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-07-30|title=Where Is Alleged Wikileaks Courier Matt DeHart Of 'Enemies Of The State' Now?|url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/enemies-of-the-state-director-sonia-kennebeck-gives-update-on-wikileaks-matthew|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Oxygen Official Site|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116123611/https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/enemies-of-the-state-director-sonia-kennebeck-gives-update-on-wikileaks-matthew|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 18, 2010, DeHart signed consent forms (such as the permission for any FBI agent and "any Canadian law enforcement", to record his phone calls with his old military colleagues) and authorized agents to assume his online identity, giving the FBI his aliases, and passwords to his e-mail accounts. Among the accounts was a Hushmail account in the name of "Fawkes".<ref name="Hacker" />
DeHart was then transferred to Tennessee, where he spent 21 months in jail because of the child pornography charges against him.<ref name=Burnham>{{Cite web|last=Burnham|first=Emily|date=2021-07-11|title=He collapsed in a Bangor courtroom and claimed he was a political prisoner. A new documentary probes his story.|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2021/07/11/news/bangor/he-collapsed-in-a-bangor-courtroom-and-claimed-he-was-a-political-prisoner-a-new-documentary-probes-his-story/|access-date=2022-01-22|website=Bangor Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>
After an unsuccessful attempt to seek asylum in Canada, he was deported to the US on March 1, 2015, and handed over to FBI agents at the Peace Bridge border crossing.<ref name="Humphreys_3/1/2015">{{Cite web | last=Humphreys | first=Adrian | url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/matt-dehart-the-alleged-anonymous-hacker-deported-to-u-s-after-canada-refused-to-grant-him-asylum |title=Matt DeHart, the alleged Anonymous hacker, deported to U.S. after Canada refused to grant him asylum | date=March 1, 2015 | newspaper=National Post |access-date=March 2, 2015 |archive-date=November 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117012552/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Plea and sentence ===
DeHart was described by one prosecutor as a "classic child sex predator".<ref name="Kushner_3/20/2015" />
In March 2015, he was granted assistance by the Courage Foundation, an international organization that defends whistleblowers.<ref name="Kushner_3/20/2015" />
On November 13, 2015, in Tennessee, DeHart pleaded guilty to "two charges of receiving child pornography and a charge of failing to appear as ordered in court".<ref name="plea">{{cite news|last1=Humphreys|first1=Adrian|date=13 November 2015|title='Extremely rational' Anonymous hacktivist Matt DeHart avoids 70-year prison term with child porn plea deal|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/extremely-rational-anonymous-hacktivist-matt-dehart-avoids-70-year-prison-term-with-child-porn-plea-deal|url-status=live|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117012539/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/|archive-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> On February 22, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Arthur Trauger of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee sentenced DeHart to 72 months for the porn charges and an additional 18 months for fleeing the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Matt DeHart, U.S. vet linked to Anonymous and WikiLeaks, sentenced for child porn|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/23/matt-dehart-us-vet-linked-anonymous-and-wikileaks-/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226143839/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/23/matt-dehart-us-vet-linked-anonymous-and-wikileaks-/|archive-date=2016-02-26|access-date=2016-02-26|website=Washington Times}}</ref> According to DeHart, he was originally scheduled to be released September 11, 2018, taking into account the 14 months he had spent under house arrest in Canada; this part of his plea deal was not honored, and he was eventually released from prison in October 2019.{{sfn | ''Enemies of the State'' | 2020}}
DeHart has claimed wrongful prosecution, accusing the U.S. government of using child pornography as a ruse to probe his activist activities.<ref name="Hacker" /> A victim-impact statement was delivered which accused DeHart of orchestrating a hoax in the media and in court to avoid taking responsibility for damaging lives.<ref name="hoax">{{Cite web|title=UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS MATTHEW PAUL DEHART (No. 3:10-cr-00250)|url=https://douglaslucas.com/files/MattDeHart_SentencingTranscript.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lucas|first=Douglas|date=2016-02-23|title=Anonymous Activist Matt DeHart Sentenced to 7.5 Years|url=https://revolution-news.com/anonymous-activist-matt-dehart-sentenced-to-7-5-years/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2021-06-29|access-date=2022-01-25|website=Revolution News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629171830/https://revolution-news.com/anonymous-activist-matt-dehart-sentenced-to-7-5-years/ }}</ref>
In 2017, his mother stated that he would "be on a sex offender's registry for 10 years".<ref name="Medium 2017">{{cite web | title=Courage Under Fire : Matt DeHart. #IntelGroup Interviews Leann DeHart - by #IntelGroup | website=Medium | date=March 31, 2017 | url=https://medium.com/@IntelGroup/courage-under-fire-matt-dehart-addb976bd1c8 | access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref> Although his conviction is in Tennessee, because his last known address was in Concord, New Hampshire, he was also required to register there as a sex offender, with a mugshot dated June 14, 2021.<ref name="business.nh.gov">{{cite web | title=Detail Criminal Offenders, Division of State Police, New Hampshire Department of Safety | website=business.nh.gov | url=https://business.nh.gov/NSOR/Display.aspx?offenderID=7040 | access-date=January 27, 2022 | quote=Mugshot dated June 14, 2021 }}</ref>
== See also ==
* Canadian immigration and refugee law * {{cite AV media| title=Enemies of the State | people=Sonia Kennebeck (director) | url=https://tiff.net/events/enemies-of-the-state | date=2020 |ref={{sfnref | Enemies of the State | 2020}} | access-date=2023-01-14}} – a documentary film about the Matt DeHart case
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
*[http://bangordailynews.com/2010/08/11/news/bangor/child-porn-suspect-collapses-in-court/ Child Porn Suspect Collapses In Court, Judy Harrison, August 11, 2010] *[https://nationalpost.com/matt-dehart-claims-hes-wanted-for-working-with-anonymous Five-part feature on Matt DeHart's case by Adrian Humphreys, National Post, May 2014] *[https://www.scribd.com/doc/227145236/Matt-DeHart-Grand-Jury-Indictment Matt DeHart: Grand Jury Indictment] *[https://archive.org/details/gov.uscourts.tnmd.48799 United States of America vs. Matthew DeHart, Criminal Complaint]
== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.mattdehart.com}} Courage Foundation page for DeHart
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeHart, Matt}} Category:1984 births Category:Anonymous (hacker group) activists Category:American freedom of information activists Category:American hackers Category:21st-century American criminals Category:American cybercriminals Category:Corning Community College alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Newburgh, Indiana Category:Right of asylum in Canada Category:United States Air Force airmen Category:People associated with WikiLeaks