Bitcoin dev Jon Atack got arrested in El Salvador this weekend
Over the weekend, law enforcement in El Salvador arrested and subsequently freed senior Bitcoin developer Jon Atack on what he described as “false accusations.”
Social media erupted with concern over his safety after he tweeted that his phone and passport had been confiscated, making it difficult for him to communicate with the outside world.
At one point, law enforcement informed him of his imminent detainment at a nearby prison; however, he was able to avoid that trip.
The presidentially appointed director of the National Bitcoin Office and staunchly pro-Nayib Bukele administration spokeswoman said Atack’s neighbor called the authorities on him following a heated, verbal dispute.
Nayib Bukele’s administrator manages the media crisis
This administrator, Stacy Herbert, was actively responding to questions about the situation and managing social media communications about the incident. She noted that Atack had retained a lawyer and that the situation proceeded in an orderly fashion.
In Herbert’s view, she claimed Atack said harsh words to a woman who lived near him. That woman then called the police with an accusation of “violence against women,” a type of criminal act prohibited since 2012 by El Salvador’s Ley Especial Integral para una Vida Libre de Violencia para las Mujeres (LEIV).
Read more: Bitcoin is no longer legal currency in El Salvador
LEIV codified 11 types of gender-based violence in Salvadoran law, including “violent speech against women.”
Throughout the incident, Herbert claims that Atack benefited from fair and legal treatment.
Atack uncuffed, freed within minutes
About an hour after the arrest and despite an initial threat of detainment at a nearby prison, law enforcement officers released Atack and returned his personal belongings. He called the police “professional and friendly.”
Online, he thanked everyone for their support, concluding, “This was the first time I’ve been in cuffs and God willing also the last time.”
In Atack’s view, his neighborly dispute involved his refusal to join a lawsuit against the previous owner of their land.
Atack had previously shared pictures and videos of the contested land. In early 2024, he began work on a house on the property. He was hoping to build an off-grid capable house.
During the initial broadcast of Atack’s arrest on social media, Bitcoiners were quick to respond to his plea for help.
Luke Dashjr called Atack “not one of the bad ones” in reference to his position as a Bitcoin Core developer. Herbert suggested that Dashjr improperly implied that Atack’s work on Bitcoin Core had anything to do with the matter.
Dashjr shot back that the information was only provided to contextualize Dashjr’s support for Atack, since Atack is not a well-known developer.
At the end of the day, Atack’s arrest, even by his account, seemingly had nothing to do with bitcoin (BTC).
Instead, it turned into a BTC-related event due to the country’s association with BTC tourism, Atack being a BTC worker in El Salvador, and the National Bitcoin Office’s director managing communications about his otherwise unrelated situation.
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