Man allegedly angry over Castile case is charged in hacking database

Published 7:49 pm Tuesday, June 5, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS — A man who allegedly hacked into Minnesota state computer databases because he was angry over the acquittal of the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile has been charged.

Charges against 19-year-old Cameron Thomas Crowley of Lino Lakes were unsealed Tuesday. He faces multiple counts, including intentional damage to a protected computer.

Crowley is also charged with hacking into servers at unnamed universities.

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An indictment says Crowley went by the name “Vigilance.”

A person tweeting as Vigilance after the June 2017 breaches said the Minnesota databases, and Minnesota State University Moorhead, were targeted in retaliation for the acquittal of former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez.

Yanez shot and killed Castile, a black motorist, in 2016. Castile’s girlfriend livestreamed the gruesome aftermath.