Friend,

Earlier today, the U.K. high court issued a temporary reprieve for the world’s foremost journalist and political prisoner, Julian Assange.

Assange has fought extradition to the United States for over a decade. Today’s ruling granted him the right to a new hearing to fight his extradition – but with a catch.

The court will first allow the Biden DOJ an opportunity to give “satisfactory assurances” that he will be allowed to argue his case on the grounds of the First Amendment and stipulate whether or not Assange will be subject to the death penalty.

The high court had an opportunity today to unequivocally defend press freedom and refuse extradition on any grounds. Instead they issued this fig leaf ruling to allow the continued persecution of a journalist for telling the TRUTH.

Many of us were sickened by the recent video which clearly shows an Israeli drone massacring four unarmed men walking down a road lined with destroyed buildings in Khan Younis. They were young men simply trying to reach their homes, demolished by Israeli airstrikes, to salvage whatever they could. And they were murdered for it.

It was a scene horrifyingly similar to the 2007 U.S. military video recorded by an Apache gunsight camera depicting the indiscriminate slaughter of over a dozen people in a Baghdad suburb – including two Reuters employees.

That video was revealed to the world by Julian Assange.

Assange is a hero who has been the target of three American presidents – two Democrats and one Republican. It appears that silencing journalists and covering up war crimes is another bipartisan issue for the political duopoly.

I have advocated for Assange’s freedom for years, and I am the only candidate who will be on every ballot in November who has called for dropping all charges in this case.

As president, I will drop the case against Julian Assange on Day 1 in the White House. I will restore our nation’s commitment to a free press by ending the outrageous practice of targeting journalists and whistleblowers under the Espionage Act. I urge you to join me with a contribution to our campaign today.

If the ludicrous, unfounded charges against Assange are allowed to stand, it will silence journalists around the world and send a clear message to every despot that they can commit their war crimes out in the open without any fear of accountability.

We see that in Israel today, where the IDF is publishing their war crimes on social media for all the world to see – and facing no consequences.

The continued persecution of Assange is deeply destructive to our democracy. We need a president committed to defending free expression, transparency, and accountability.

For now, Julian’s freedom depends on us. I urge everyone to visit AssangeDefense.org today to learn about various ways you can take action to secure his release and stand up for press freedom. You can also watch my previous video on this extradition here.

In solidarity and gratitude,

Jill