Julian Assange Convicted of Conspiracy Hack

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was charged by the United States for potentially conspiring to hack a computer of secret American documents.

The charge of conspiracy to hack a United States computer came from Assange’s agreement to break a password to a classified government program and was originally filed in March 2018. Assange had escaped being charged by hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. 

Assange, who had been hiding in the Ecuadorean Embassy since 2012, was videoed being put into a police van, while he was shackled. British authorities arrested him on Thursday. Assange was being detained partly in connection with an American extradition warrant. 

The United States government has been watching for Assange since his disclosures in his 2010 and has most recently released the thousands of emails stolen from the computer systems of Hilary Clinton’s campaign group in the 2016 elections. Despite the accusation of Assange releasing the emails, United States investigators have still investigated Russian agents influencing the election. 

Assange’s WikiLeaks released the files of Americans that documented the killings of civilians and journalists in 2010, creating unflattering views of allies and of American actions. Despite the disclosures, Assange has asserted that WikiLeaks is a journalistic organization.

Julian Assange has the right to contest the United States extradition request in British courts, but Assange is now a mere flight away from being held in American custody after years of hiding. 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/europe/julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuador-embassy.html