The prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has come front and center in a growing number of minds of many Americans because they feel he is being unfairly persecuted and because of the implications for free speech, the First Amendment and the future of journalism. The precedent set would allow governments to cross the line of First Amendment protections of citizens and journalists anywhere in the world.

Assange’s innovations in transparency in journalism publishing verifiable evidence of the story was so novel that he was scrutinized by the U.S. government and the news media for breaking the norm of telling narratives to the public and relying on public trust for public belief in whatever they are told. Things came to a head when WikiLeaks published a trove of evidence of the CIA’s secret practices of spying on the Americans through their smart devices. This embarrassed then Secretary Mike Pompeo so badly that he held a press conference and labeled WikiLeaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service” and went to work plotting the destruction of WikiLeaks and Assange, whether it was legal or not.

Assange was first charged under the Trump Administration with one count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) for allegedly helping U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning access Defense Department computers without authorization. When in fact, it was established at Manning’s trial that she already had her own full security access and needed no further assistance. 17 charges under the Espionage Act were then added. No other publisher had ever been prosecuted under the Espionage Act prior to those 17 charges. Mr. Assange could face up to 175 years behind bars, effectively a death sentence, for these charges and it was admitted by the U.S. prosecution that it cannot rule out the death penalty. The Biden Administration has not shown any interest in resolving the situation.

Last November, Representative Thomas Massie, Representative Jim McGovern and Senator Rand Paul introduced a bi-partisan letter to President Biden urging him to drop the prosecution of Julian Assange. The 16 signatory are James P. McGovern, Thomas Massie, Rashida Tlaib, Eric Burlison, Ilhan Omar, Paul A. Gosar, Ayanna Pressle, Marjorie Tayler Greene, Pramila Jayapal, Matthew Rosendale, Greg Casar, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Jesús G. “Chuy” Garcia, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rand Paul.

The letter states: “We believe the Department of Justice acted correctly in 2013, during your vice-presidency, when it declined to pursue charges against Mr. Assange for publishing the classified documents because it recognized that the prosecution would set a dangerous precedent. We note that the 1917 Espionage Act was ostensibly intended to punish and imprison government employees and contractors for providing or selling state secrets to enemy governments, not to punish journalists and whistleblowers for attempting to inform the public about serious issues that some U.S. government officials might prefer to keep secret.” The letter further states: “It is the duty of journalists to seek out sources, including documentary evidence, in order to report to the public on the activities of government. The United States must not pursue an unnecessary prosecution that risks criminalizing common journalistic practices and thus chilling the work of the free press. We urge you to ensure that this case be brought to a close in as timely a manner as possible.”

House Resolution 934 sponsored by Paul Gosar, was introduced on 12/13/2023 and expresses the sense that regular journalistic activities are protected under the First Amendment, and that the United States ought to drop all charges against and attempts to extradite Julian Assange. Co-sponsors on this important Resolution are James P. McGovern, Thomas Massie, Marjorie Tayler Greene, Anna Paulina Luna, Eric Burlson, Jeff Duncan, Ilhan Omar, Clay Higgins, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush.

With ten co-sponsors, the resolution needs 10 more to go for a vote. Americans can contact their Representatives at 202-224-3121 (House Switchboard) and ask them to co-sponsor and vote. This is the democratic system at work with the people communicating with their Representatives, and those Representatives gathering to vote and make the proper changes reflecting the voice of the people. It is up to the people to utilize that system and make their voices heard and have a better chance of being heard in an election year. Assange’s case is paramount to the future survival of free speech and upholding the First Amendment. We cannot have any healthy debate or be informed about our governments if the U.S. is attempting to arrest journalists because it doesn’t like what they are publishing, whether they are American citizens or not.

Assange’s wife Stella states: “What’s being done to Julian is by design – it’s there to intimidate. To intimidate regular citizens but also to intimidate journalists, people who are in the profession. It’s there to give an example of authoritarian abuse to the world”