Harvard computer whiz Aaron Swartz has been indicted by Boston authorities for wire fraud, computer fraud, unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer, aiding and abetting, and criminal forfeiture.

What exactly did Swartz do (in plain English)?

He snuck (or hacked) in an MIT computer network, hid his real identity, and used a program to harvest an extraordinary volume of articles from JSTOR, an online archive of academic journals. Swartz was likely motivated by his belief that information is free.

He is a well-known activist who supports progressive causes and information freedom. He is famous for his early involved with social sharing Web site Reddit.

Below is the full text of his indictment.

Reddit