Julian Assange


Assange is certainly not my idea of a hero. Indeed, as the linked article discusses, he had a significant role in bringing Donald Trump to power, and thus threatening the core of our Democratic Republic. But as a 1st Amendment absolutist, I recognize the threat to a free press posed by his prosecution.

"Considering all the devastation Assange enabled with his 2016 plot against America, it is tough to embrace him as a free-speech martyr. But those who care about accountability and excessive government power don’t always get to choose the battles that must be waged to preserve First Amendment freedoms. Assange mounted a damaging attack on the United States and facilitated a profound subversion of its political system. Still, his prosecution under the Espionage Act is another assault on American democracy." 

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/12/denounce-julian-assange-dont-extradite-him/

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