Brit arrested in Spain for allegedly hacking Biden, Obama to be extradited

Spain will extradite a baby-faced Briton wanted by the United States for a Twitter hack that compromised the accounts of President Joe Biden and former leader Barack Obama.

Spain’s High Court of Justice granted on Friday a US request to extradite British citizen Joseph James O’Connor over the 2020 scandal. The 23-year-old was arrested in Estepona in July 2021.

He is accused of hijacking a variety of verified accounts, including those of then-Democratic presidential candidate Biden and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The accounts of former President Obama, reality star Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Kanye West were also hacked.

O’Connor allegedly used the accounts to request digital currency, prompting Twitter to prevent some verified accounts from posting messages for several hours until security could be restored.

The High Court said the US was in a better position to prosecute, since that was where the evidence in the investigation was obtained.

O’Connor had opposed his extradition proposal at an earlier hearing in Madrid.

The Spanish government has yet to confirm the extradition, but generally complies with High Court orders.

O’Connor has the right to appeal the extradition order.

READ MORE: