WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to national defense, as part of a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a long-standing legal battle. The plea was entered in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific.
Assange acknowledged that while he believed the Espionage Act under which he was charged conflicted with his First Amendment rights, he accepted that encouraging sources to provide classified information for publication could be deemed unlawful.
Under the terms of the agreement, Assange is allowed to return to his native Australia without serving time in an American prison. This outcome spared him from a potentially lengthy prison sentence, as a conviction could have resulted in significant incarceration.
WikiLeaks, the organization Assange founded in 2006, expressed gratitude for the support received during the legal proceedings, emphasizing the fight for his freedom.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, to leak diplomatic cables and military files in 2010. Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison, had her sentence commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017.
Assange, hailed by some as a champion of transparency and criticized by others for endangering lives and overstepping journalistic boundaries, faced additional legal challenges beyond the espionage charges. In 2010, Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange on allegations of rape and molestation, which were later dropped. Assange, maintaining his innocence, sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012, where he remained in self-imposed exile for seven years.
In 2019, the Ecuadorian government permitted British authorities to arrest Assange, who spent the subsequent five years in custody while resisting extradition to the U.S.
