Aaron Swartz's public memorial service planned for Saturday
The Internet activist's loved ones will hold a service in New York City this weekend to celebrate his life.
The loved ones of Internet activist Aaron Swartz are holding a memorial service Saturday in New York City "to celebrate his life and remember their beloved friend, sibling, child, and partner," according to a press release.
Swartz's suicide last week spurred criticism over the U.S. prosecutor's handling of his computer fraud case, with critics accusing the feds of unfairly trying to make an example of the 26-year-old hacker.
Swartz was accused of stealing 4 million documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jstor, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. The authorities claimed that he broke into a restricted-access computer wiring closet at MIT and accessed that network without authorization.
Swartz's friends and family will gather at Cooper Union's Great Hall from 4 to 6 p.m. ET for a public service, with multiple speakers from the world of politics and tech, and a musical performance by OK Go's Damian Kulash. Cooper Union is located in The Foundation Building, 7 E. Seventh Street, between Third and Fourth avenues in Manhattan.
Speakers include Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, David Segal, Ben Wikler, Roy Singham, Doc Searls, Edward Tufte, Holden Karnofsky, Tom Chiarella, and David Isenberg.
To RSVP for the free event, click here. Organizers said they will live-stream the event at www.rememberaaronsw.com. A video of the service will also be posted on the site after it ends.