4-11 incident
(copy of an MNN article by Liam Sinclair)
The 4-11 Incident refers to the malicious deletion of the national discussion forums of the United Republic of Tymaria by two of its citizens, Philip Locke and William Jesmer. It is named for the date on which the act occurred - during the evening (GMT) of April 11, 2002. During the crisis, the forums of the Tymarian Defense Forces were made available by the Chief of the Defense Staff, Liam Sinclair, for government operations and as a place of refuge for the Tymarian population.
After it was discovered that the boards had been deleted, the Defense Forces quickly set out to facilitate a secure environment for the Tymarian government to operate in (at the TDF forums) and work with the civilian authorities to determine those responsible for the action. Erik Mortis was quickly able to confirm the involvement of both Locke and Jesmer. The deletion were performed less than twenty-four hours after Jesmer had been given administrative powers over the forums following his elevation to Minister of Home Affairs. According to administrative logs, the entire operation was completed within forty-five minutes.
Labeled as "terrorists" by the Tymarian population and various other micronations, both individuals later claimed credit for the deletions without showing any remorse. In a conversation with Atteran officials on the day of the deletion, Jesmer stated, "I deleted it because we need a new centerplace [sic], a new beginning for [micronations]. A new Tymaria." Locke took the opportunity to point out that Tymaria lacked a strong intelligence agency since the TYSOG Incident left the existence of such an organization highly unpopular amongst Tymarian citizens.
The forums were restored by Ezboard Inc. on April 12; however, due to a lack of recent backups being available, one month of information was lost from the forum record.
Public Trial
On April 13, 2002, the Tymarian Minister of Justice, Joe Whit, filed charges in the Tymarian High Tribunal against both Locke and Jesmer for their actions. While they had already confessed their involvement in the deletion of the forums, both still plead not guilty to the charges. The maximum penalty they faced if convicted by the Tribunal was permanent banishment from the United Republic.
Prime Executive Jason Rhode was called to testify during the trial, given that it was under his authority that Jesmer had been granted administrative powers over the forum. Asked by Jesmer's attorney, Julian Starr, why he so readily granted such powers to a relatively new citizen such as Jesmer, the Prime responded, "I thought that despite his novice career here, he was all for us. He spoke of his plans to make big changes to restore vigor inside our state, and I thought that'd be great. When he was voted heavily in favor of, I gave him admin powers, which he was asking for every time we talked. I was happy that he was so eager to start, and I gave him a list of things that I thought she be the first on his agenda. Then, I was occupied with RL stuff for a few days. When I got back on Thursday night, I found out what had happened."
Jesmer's primary defence centered around the fact that upwards of four other Tymarians possessed administrative powers, therefore, according to Mr. Starr, there was reasonable doubt about his client's involvement in the deletion (despite Jesmer's prior confession in a public arena). The discussion forums owner, Erik Mortis, presented a copy of the administrative log as evidence to discount any doubt concerning Jesmer's responsibility for the deletion.
On April 20, the Chief Judge of Tymaria, Tristen Abbey noted that "the prosecution has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Jesmer and Locke are guilty. They confessed in a chat room (in which I was present) and on the message boards ... no closing arguments will be needed." The Chief Judge showed his frustration with the two defendants' pleas of not guilty after they had publicly confessed, noting that in they had both "lied" to the Tribunal. Finding both guilty, Abbey banished them from the United Republic for life.
First Anniversary
On April 12, 2003, Philip Locke, now a high-ranking and respected citizen of Shireroth, bragged about his involvement in the incident one-year prior noting that "one year ago yesterday, Micras was shocked by the sudden and complete destruction of the Tymarian [forums] by the Minister of Home Affairs (Jesmer) and the Prime Executive's personal agent (Locke)."
