U.S. charges WikiLeaks founder with criminal conspiracy

Defended by civil-rights activists and others both from both left and right as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protections, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will now face a charge brought by the United States of conspiring to hack into a classified government computer.

The Australian national was arrested Thursday outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been given asylum for nearly seven years.

Already, a British court Thursday found him guilty of skipping bail. Assange was released on bail in 2012 while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges that since have been dropped. It was after his release that Ecuador gave him refuge.

The Justice Department, seeking his extradition, accused Assange of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

“The charge relates to Assange’s alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” the Justice Department said in a press release.

The DOJ likely will bring additional charges against Assange, CNN reported.

‘Conspiracy to commit journalism’

A representative for Assange outside a London court called it “a dark day for journalism.”

“We don’t want this to go forward. This has to be averted,” the representative said, according to CNBC.com

“It’s called conspiracy. It’s conspiracy to commit journalism.”

The representative said there is “no assurance that there will not be additional charges when he is on U.S. soil.”

WikiLeaks, formed in 2006, played a prominent role in the 2016 election, publishing internal emails of Democratic National Committee officials. In January 2017, U.S. intelligence officials alleged Russian military intelligence hacked the DNC networks and gave the information to WikiLeaks.

Assange: ‘The U.K. must resist’

A bearded Assange was shouting as he was pulled from the embassy and transported to court for the beginning of the extradition battle.

Ecuadorian President Moreno, however, said Thursday he had been assured that Britain would not extradite Assange to a country where he could face the death penalty.

One of Assange’s lawyers, Baltasar Garzon, claimed in Madrid on Thursday that Assange may risk torture if he is extradited to the United States, Reuters reported.

Garzon insisted the arguments Ecuador gave for ending Assange’s stay under asylum were false.

Moreno said he revoked Assange’s asylum due to “repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols.”

The court Thursday heard police had to call for back-up when Assange tried to barge past them when they arrived to arrest him, the London Sun reported.

Screaming “this is unlawful,” he was handcuffed and lifted into a waiting police van.

Assange was heard shouting “the U.K. has no civility” and “the U.K. must resist.”

Polarizing

France 24 noted Assange remains a polarizing figure.

Transparency and anti-war campaigners praised him for releasing 500,000 U.S. documents on the Iraq and Afghan wars that prompted allegations of torture, clandestine military operations and civilian deaths.

The United States and its allies countered that Assange was risking lives by exposing information on sources, intelligence techniques and key infrastructure sites.

WikiLeaks, for example, has released unredacted documents revealing the names of informants.

Since developing a talent for computer hacking as a teen, Assange has pleaded guilty to 25 hacking offenses but only has been fined.

The post U.S. charges WikiLeaks founder with criminal conspiracy appeared first on WND.