Anonymous returns in the midst of the American protests

After a week of the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed by Minneapolis police in a racist action, Americans have taken to the streets to protest police abuse, especially towards black people. After Floyd's death, rejection of the country's racist history has rekindled, especially considering that this same racist rhetoric has been on the rise since Trump got elected in 2016.

The situation had a real impact when hundreds of people gathered to protest in front of the White House in Washington. Following this, Trump was taken to an underground bunker and the lights in the presidential house were turned off for the first time in a hundred years.

Donald Trump has responded to the unrest by calling it a "disgrace" and has offered military power to governors if needed to stop the protests. This has resulted in the militarization of at least 30 percent of the country's states.

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Added to the chaos resulting from street protests in multiple cities across the country, was the announcement by Anonymous, a group of hackers who spoke out against racist police actions. In the video released on Sunday, Anonymous rejects the actions of the police and supports citizens to rise up against this to prevent it from happening in the future. The video talks about a criminal ruling class. Finally, they presented their threat: the group would expose crimes that have been covered up by justice, especially committed by that ruling class of which they speak.

Among their first actions after the threat, they carried out cyber attacks directly related to the death of George Floyd. The collective hacked and removed the Minneapolis Police Department website, as well as disrupting Chicago Police Radio programming to put on the song "Fuck the Police."

Taking advantage of the situation, those of the group also revived some crimes that are forgotten and that could end up dirtying many powerful people, both businessmen, and politicians.

The most prominent was the publication of the list of celebrities who had belonged to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking network. Billionaire businessman Epstein "committed suicide" in 2019 when he was facing pedophilia charges and was accused of having alleged parties with underage girls attended by personalities from around the world. This same list had been published in 2015 but was quickly forgotten without delving into its veracity. Among the personalities were figures such as Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Kevin Spacey, and politicians such as Donald Trump, Prince Andrew of England, and former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana, among many other figures.

Likewise, they revived the theory that Lady Di's death was not an accident but was sponsored by the English crown. According to Semana, “according to hackers, the princess would have learned of the relationship between the royal family and Epstein and was willing to tell it". However, this story joins hundreds of other stories that try to clarify the death of Diana. Added to this theory is the death of other figures who also seemed to have an interest in clarifying the truth about the 'Epstein blacklist'.

What is Anonymous?

What started as a diversion from a group of hackers, is targeting businessmen, politicians, and important events of today. The purpose of these hacktivists (activist hackers) has been to uncover cases of corruption and other secrets through cyberattacks to steal information.

Since its inception in 2003, the collective has participated in various cyber-attacks and even supported Wiki Leaks leaks by Julian Assange. They played an important role in the Arab Spring, becoming a figure of the revolution, as well as showing their ejection of ISIS actions after the Charlie Hebdo attack when they published an extensive list of Twitter accounts related to the jihadist group.

Although Anonymous has not really stopped working and acting since its inception, for three years they did not take such a forceful role in the fight against injustices. Now, the question is whether the complaints and the evidence they leave will serve to investigate and clarify some facts, beyond generating a stir on social networks.