The following contains the analysis and opinions of the author and no one else. The author does not speak for the Backpage defendants.

The more Democrats and Republicans bash libertarians, the more convinced I am that the bash-ees are the last freethinkers in our wretched democracy — particularly those libertarians who read and write for Reason magazine.

Few outlets so consistently champion free speech and the right of individuals to be left the fuck alone.

Reason unabashedly pushes back on nativism, the national surveillance state, abuses of power by cops and prosecutors and odious government practices such as torture, taxes and civil asset forfeiture.

Reason is also unafraid to defend those whom all others have abandoned. Case in point: veteran newspapermen Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin and their fellow co-defendants in the Backpage prosecution, which has stretched over six years and ruined the lives of the accused, costing one, Jim Larkin, his life.

Three men — all in their 70s — are now in prison, serving lengthy sentences as a result of wrongful convictions: Lacey, the former executive editor of a 17-newspaper chain, Village Voice Media, as well as VVM executives Scott Spear and Jed Brunst.

The mainstream press has largely ignored the case or given it short shrift, often siding with the government’s lies and misconduct and rarely bothering to examine the outrageous tactics of prosecutors, which involve smear tactics, destruction of evidence, violation of attorney-client privilege and the trampling of the First Amendment, to name but a few examples.

Reason, however, has never wavered in recognizing the case for what it is: a perverse combination of the Salem Witch Trials, the Scopes Monkey Trial and the McMartin pre-school trial all wrapped into one.

Reason senior editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown has followed the controversy over Backpage since before the feds took aim at the platform. She and Reason filmmaker Paul Detrick have collaborated on several video reports on Backpage, including two 40-minute documentaries, 2019’s “The Rise and Fall of Backpage,” which won an L.A. Press Club award in 2020, and the more recent “Classified: The War On Backpage.com,” released in October on the streaming channel CiVL.

The video was free to watch on CiVL, though you had to join the platform to do so. Reason just released the documentary on YouTube, which will likely increase viewership, as no sign-ups are required on YouTube.

Months before Lacey turned himself into U.S. Marshals to begin serving a five-year prison sentence, Brown and Detrick visited Lacey at his meandering home in Phoenix, where Lacey vows to return and vindicate his name.

The interview, with Lacey’s remembrances of Larkin, Lacey’s longtime business partner and friend, serves as the backbone of the film, reminding us of the human tragedy wrought by the government’s vindictive prosecution of Backpage’s former owners and operators.

Notwithstanding their detractors, the libertarians get it. They always have . . .

Please also see:
Support Free Speech: Rock a #FreetheBackpage3 Bumper Sticker
and
The #Backpage3 Ask 9th Circuit for Release on Bail Pending Appeal