The Murder of John Lang and Police Gangstalking
forum.hackliberty.org
From: Activist Predicts Death, Says The Cops Killed Him | Fresno People's Media Posted By: Dylan Donnelly January 26, 2016 The man who was found stabbed inside a burning home in Fresno last week is confirmed to be John Lang, a frequent poster in the Fresno People’s Media group on Facebook and acquaintance to many in the Fresno activist community. Police say a man who had been stabbed was found inside a burning Central Fresno home. He was pronounced dead at the hospital and the neighborhoo...

I want to share a deeply concerning story that highlights the critical importance of online privacy, especially for activists and those who speak out against authority. The death of John Lang, a well-known figure in the Fresno activist community, raises serious questions about surveillance, privacy, and the potential consequences of being targeted by law enforcement.

John was found stabbed inside a burning home, and what’s particularly alarming is that just days before his death, he expressed fears that Fresno law enforcement was stalking him and might end his life. He had been vocal about his experiences with police harassment, including a disturbing pattern of unethical practices by Fresno law enforcement, such as scanning license plates in retail parking lots to generate revenue.

In his efforts to protest these injustices, John posted his thoughts on the Fresno Bee, believing he was doing so anonymously. However, it later came to light that an employee at the Fresno Bee was sharing identifiable information (IP addresses) with law enforcement, leading to John being targeted. This tragic situation serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities we face when we do not take proper precautions to protect our online privacy.

John’s case illustrates the dangers of not using tools like VPNs or Tor for online activism. Had he utilized these privacy measures, he might have been able to shield his identity from those who sought to silence him.

This tragic story serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of online exposure for activists. We must learn from John’s experience and recognize the importance of safeguarding our privacy in an increasingly surveilled world.

    • breakingcups@lemmy.world
      2010·
      4 days ago

      His writings sound like that of someone suffering from paranoid delusions. We’d have to take every claim he makes about the news site feeding info to law enforcement, the gps trackers, the FBI being in on it, the undercover cops tailing him, AT&T being in on it at face value. He’s seeing patterns where there are none.

      Apparently all this started during a messy divorce. Our minds can do funny things under stress, like deluding ourselves into a persecution complex and making everything fit that, rather than having to deal with an uglier truth.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
        3·
        3 days ago

        Yeah I’m inclined to believe it based on the actions of numerous other police departments, but I’m also highly skeptical of it because of things like his message about if they find him dead naming not only the Fresno Sheriff but also his neighbor and a coworker. If I came across this on Facebook I for sure would write this guy off.

        I do find it odd they ruled his death a suicide but then stated that he had three separate stab wounds to the chest. I have a hard time believing that someone could do that to themselves a second or third time, but who knows.

      • LunarWanderer@discuss.tchncs.deOPEnglish
        52·
        3 days ago

        maybe you missed the part where Fresno PD pulled up to his house with a vehicle mounted thermal imaging device (its in the photos and last video) to see through his walls to make sure he wasn’t home.

          • LunarWanderer@discuss.tchncs.deOPEnglish
            8·
            3 days ago

            That makes sense, I reviewed the footage and it doesn’t look like a thermal camera. I read this one of the YouTube comments:

            “Professional photographer here. That was not a thermal imaging camera. That was a canon 1DX camera. A popular photography and video camera. The big thing around it was a camera stabilizer gimbal, most likely a Movi M5. That set up is used for filming high-end videos and commercials, sometimes TV shows. A police department would not have a set up like that. I use set ups like this to film car commercials. That was not a thermal imaging camera.”

          • Grapho@lemmy.ml
            32·
            3 days ago

            It’s not a fucking Superman x ray vision, but that doesn’t mean it’s not able to tell you if the house is currently occupied or vacant.