Anonymous Gets in the Party Van

Reuters is reporting that the FBI today raided six locations in New York and conducted several searches in California on Tuesday as part of a sweeping investigation of the Internet hacktivist group Anonymous. The targets of the raids in New York included a residence in Brooklyn and five other locations on Long Island. According to the report, these homes were searched for computers and other related equipment suspected of being used by members of the group to commit various cyber crimes.

FBI spokesman Tim Flannelly, said the searches in New York were "in relation to an ongoing investigation" of Anonymous. At least one laptop was removed from one home, but no arrests were made in any of the New York locations. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, FBI agents in California were conducting what they called "law enforcement actions" in the San Francisco Bay Area but did not say if anyone was arrested.

"I don't think anybody should be surprised," said Josh Shaul, chief technical officer of Application Security, Inc., speaking of today's raids to Reuters. "They played with fire and they got burned."

While some are reporting that there hasn't been an arrest related to these FBI raids, The Escapist claims that at least 14 have been arrested in multiple states including New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida. Computer equipment and related materials were also seized, the report claims.

FBI spokeswoman Alicia Senisbaugh told Fox News today: "I can confirm that we're conducting law enforcement actions relating to a criminal investigation."

source: Huffington Post by way of Neal Ballard, The Escapist