Basically, he fought for freedom of information to an extent that most other people would not, i.e., he risked committing (what is currently considered) a felon

Basically, he fought for freedom of information to an extent that most other people would not, i.e., he risked committing (what is currently considered) a felony to uphold his principles. In this sense, he was a martyr who didn't just talk about ideals like so many other internet commenters do, he actually acted on his ideals.