“Being a patriot doesn't mean prioritizing service to government above all else. Being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country, knowing when to protect your Constitution, knowing when to protect your countrymen, from the violations of and encroachments of adversaries. And those adversaries don't have to be foreign countries.”

former United States National Security Agency contractor

Edward Joseph Snowden is a former United States National Security Agency contractor known for leaking classified documents that exposed global surveillance programs. His disclosures made him a central figure in debates over privacy, intelligence gathering, and government surveillance. Snowden worked as an intelligence contractor before releasing the material that brought his name into public view. Since then, he has been identified with criticism of mass surveillance and with arguments about the balance between security and civil liberties.