nicki_easy

I think the whole thing is disgusting and wrong. And I think that she was railroaded off because of the views she expressed post-sentencing--they were trying to make an example of her and "send waves through this community"* and she was standing up and taking it while disagreeing instead of bending over and whimpering with remorse. It's cruel, disproportionate, unjust and, frankly, mentally ill. This is not what our justice system is for at all, either prosecuting her in the first place or silencing her by whisking her away prematurely.

"Your Honor,

Firstly, please let me apologize for my use of foul language in the documents that you will see before you. The idea of you reading my statements and seeing them as they are phrased makes me wince quite uncomfortably. I am an incredibly articulate person your honor, but the nature of the internet is one of bluster, and bravado, and scathing comebacks. So do forgive the boorish language as it is the nature of the beast, or at least, the nature of this beast at this very moment.

Sir, I am not belittling my sentence as the prosecution claims. I have no desire at all to go to prison and the sheer thought of it makes my stomach turn. To say that I can do the sentence on my head is to employ the defense mechanism I have always employed when facing something of such magnitude. Sarcasm, humor, and a face of strength. Of course I'm worried, of course I'm anxious, but I cannot show that judge. It is reflex for me to deflect the serious with a wry tone or a joke about "shanks". But it should be incredibly clear that I am non-violent and that those statements are exactly what they were intended to be, jokes. In fact, I say as much just a few posts down. I'm trying to be brave for myself and for those around me. Also, I'm trying to establish as much as I can before I go in so that there is hope of actually being able to free myself of this restitution upon release. I do not want to be destitute for life. I do not want my restitution to haunt me. I want to establish myself and find work. Good work. And that is not easy for a felon.

I do very much regret what this situation has done to my family and my friends and my life, but your honor, as you know... to deny my love for my accomplishment is to deny countless marriages off my website, children named after me, a community so incredibly strong and resilient that I am in hysterics right now thinking about it. And I have never, ever tried to feign sugar coated lies about anything else. Please do not take them away from me in these next few weeks your honor. Those strangers around the world, as well as my parents, lifted me up when I was fetal on my apt floor post raid. There is no threat of recidivism... I can never put myself or those I love through this again. In fact, I listened very closely to what you said at my sentencing about advocacy and the more proper ways of conducting civil disobedience, and that is what we're doing now. I understand I am not a typical defendant your honor, and my "lack of remorse" riles the prosecution, but I would hope that my continued stance about what it is I believe would be considered commendable, even if it is a bit naive and hurting me in this process.

I have no idea if my words here are hurting me or helping me sir. That has always been a problem with me. I am a bit too fast and loose with my mouth, but I am honest sir. I am. I worked a secretarial position up until 6 months before the raid sir. I paid off a student loan with my money. I had intended to pursue a Masters. I wanted to see the world. These were real desires judge, not lofty ambitions. It was what was happening. This was about building an independent media empire. And we actually came close your Honor. We really did.

My intentions for NinjaVideo were altruistic. And I stand by that. Though I worked on NinjaMain alongside the others, my passion has always been my Forum, and that should be evidenced by the fact that I have close to 17,000 posts on that board. I was lonely judge. I always am. And I found those I called kin over these keyboards and wires and cables. My "Lost Tribe" sir. I beg your honor to have mercy and not take them away from me now. I honestly do need this time to prepare myself for my incarceration as well as close off loose ends and suspend my life.

Thank you, your Honor, for reading my letter.

Sincerely,

Hana Beshara"

"The government cites nothing that warrants reconsideration. Reviewing NinjaVideo’s Facebook page, and a related internet forum, the government finds a woman who is letting off some steam in her online community. In fact, in Ms. Beshara’s post-sentencing musings, she writes (in admittedly colorful language that is fairly common on the internet) to reassure friends and supporters that she will be able to handle serving the twenty-two month sentence. Govt Motion, Exhibit 2. She jokes about maybe losing some weight, picking up a degree, earning pennies making license plates. Id. Reflecting on her actual sentence, she notes that it would be natural to resent the judge that had imposed jail time on her, but she recognizes that she received a relatively lenient sentence. Id. These are not the writings of a defendant who is "likely to flee." Ms. Beshara was writing about serving her sentence, she was retrospective about how it easily could have been worse, how she could have received more jail time. She is preparing to go to jail, not to run from it.

The government does not dispute that Ms. Beshara is not a flight risk. Instead, they present two unpersuasive arguments. First, the government argues that Ms. Beshara poses a danger to the community due to internet postings that the government claims "suggest she may engage in physical violence with her future fellow inmates." Govt Motion at 2. As an initial matter, this is simply not a basis for reconsideration as it is not evidence that Ms. Beshara poses a "danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released." See 18 U.S.C. §3145(a). The government’s position amounts to the bizarre argument that Ms. Beshara should be incarcerated sooner because she will present a danger to "future fellow inmates" once incarcerated. Govt Motion at 2.

Moreover, the postings the government refers to are simply the online bluster of someone who has never spent a moment incarcerated. For example, the government notes Ms. Beshara’s posting that she will "run" her "cell block." Id. at 3. Ms. Beshara won’t even be on a cell block. She is clearly joking, as she jokes about having to make license plates. In fact, subsequent to the posts the government complains about, Ms. Beshara writes, "Nah but seriously guys, this is a sad and tragic situation and I want us to smile and laugh and stay together." See Govt Mtn, Exhibit 3, top of page 3."