Julian Assange Receives $500,000 Bitcoin Donation as He Officially Becomes a Free Man

Julian Assange became a escaped antheral connected Wednesday Australia clip (late Tuesday U.S. mainland time) aft pleading blameworthy to espionage charges brought by the U.S. authorities successful speech for his freedom. And portion it’s unclear whether the WikiLeaks co-founder volition restart his enactment publishing secrets anytime soon, Assange doesn’t request to interest astir the outgo of the backstage pitchy that flew him retired of the UK. An anonymous Bitcoin whale donated astir $500,000 to screen that for him.

The WikiLeaks co-founder’s wife, Stella Assange, posted an “emergency appeal” connected societal media not agelong aft news broke of the plea agreement that would dainty Assange’s 5 years successful a London situation arsenic clip served. Assange antecedently faced up to 170 years successful American prison.

“URGENT: Emergency entreaty for donations to screen monolithic USD 520,000 indebtedness for jet,” Stella tweeted Tuesday. “Julian’s question to state comes astatine a monolithic cost: Julian volition beryllium USD 520,000 which helium is obligated to wage backmost to the Australian authorities for charter Flight VJ199. He was not permitted to alert commercialized airlines oregon routes to Saipan and onward to Australia. Any publication large oregon tiny is overmuch appreciated.”

Stella posted a nexus to a British crowdfunding site to judge donations successful fiat currency arsenic good arsenic a nexus with crypto wallets for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, and others. The Bitcoin wallet has conscionable 24 donations astatine the clip of this writing, but 1 of those was massive, dropping 8.07 Bitcoin, oregon astir $498,000 astatine existent prices. Other donations mostly full little than $100 with a fewer amounting to respective hundred.

And that astir $500,000 volition astir beryllium capable to screen Julian’s backstage flight, thing his woman claims was organized, but not paid for, by the Australian government. The Australians had been lobbying President Joe Biden for Assange’s instrumentality to the state of his birth, though it’s inactive not wide however overmuch Biden whitethorn person personally intervened to marque definite the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) struck a plea deal. Charges against Assange were primitively brought by Donald Trump’s DOJ, which is somewhat ironic fixed the information that Assange’s leaks successful the pb up to the 2016 predetermination helped Trump triumph the White House.

Fiat currency donations to Assange presently beryllium astatine £387,359 from implicit 8,000 donors, the equivalent to astir $490,000. The remaining funds aft the formation is paid for volition spell to Assange’s “recovery and well-being,” according to the crowdfunding campaign.

The 52-year-old Assange was held successful London’s Belmarsh Prison for the past 5 years aft being physically dragged retired of the Ecuadorian embassy successful 2019. Assange entered the embassy successful 2012 claiming asylum, jumping bail connected intersexual battle charges successful Europe that person since been dropped. Assange has ever claimed his ineligible problems not related to WikiLeaks were each tied to his enactment publishing concealed authorities documents, including his astir explosive enactment successful 2011 called “Collateral Murder.” WikiLeaks published video from Iraq successful 2007 that showed U.S. forces sidesplitting civilians, including 2 Reuters journalists.

Assange appeared successful U.S. national tribunal successful Saipan, an land successful the American commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory successful the Pacific Ocean northbound of Indonesia, wherever helium pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of conspiracy. Assange’s level touched down successful Australia’s superior metropolis of Canberra Thursday nighttime section clip and the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, expressed his support.

“Earlier contiguous I was pleased to talk to Mr. Assange to invited him location and had the accidental to inquire him astir his wellness and person my archetypal treatment with him,” Albanese said, according to Australia’s ABC News. “His harmless instrumentality to Australia arsenic we cognize means truthful overmuch to his family.”

Again, it’s unclear whether Assange volition get backmost to enactment publishing concealed documents for WikiLeaks, but the timing is inauspicious for American democracy. Because, if you’ll recall, the WikiLeaks Twitter relationship (most apt tally by Assange himself astatine the time) actively solicited a governmental assignment from the Trump administration successful speech for a pardon conscionable earlier the 2016 election. And with Trump connected the ballot again, who knows what mightiness happen.