"Journalism is not a crime," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said this month, because Russia had arrested a U.S. journalist.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden's Department of Justice is still seeking to extradite WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange from the UK in order to prosecute him for essentially journalism.

Several Congress Members have just written to the U.S. Attorney General to ask that the case be dropped.

Click here to tell Attorney General Merrick Garland that you agree.

Way back in 2012, RootsAction flooded the government of Ecuador with requests for asylum for Assange – which they noted, and which they granted. From that day to this we have lobbied for Assange's freedom, not because we agree with him on everything, but because we don't want journalism to be a crime.

For the past four years, Assange has been deteriorating in a British prison.

In January 2021, as promoted by a RootsAction DIY petition, a British court ruled against extraditing Julian Assange to the United States, a ruling that was later overturned. We continue to demand that the UK free Assange.

Late in 2022, major news organizations finally asked the United States to drop the charges, as did RootsAction and a big coalition of allies.

Now, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is joined by six of her colleagues in asking Garland to drop the charges.

Click here to email the Department of Justice now.

As Tlaib has noted, in addition to RootsAction, the following support freeing Julian Assange:

News Media: The New York Times; The Guardian; The Sydney Morning Herald; El Pais; Le Monde; Der Spiegel; The Nation; The Intercept. The Executive Editors of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and USA Today.

Organizations: Human Rights Watch; the ACLU; Defending Rights and Dissent; Amnesty International; Reporters Without Borders; the Committee to Protect Journalists; Center for Constitutional Rights; Demand Progress; First Amendment Coalition; Free Press; Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; National Coalition Against Censorship; Project on Government Oversight (POGO); the Brennan Center; and PEN America.

World Leaders/Political Figures: Australian PM Albanese; Mexican President Obrador; Brazilian President Lula da Silva; Argentinian President Fernández; Bolivian President Arce; Colombian President Petro; Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer; Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic; Sign-on Letters from Legislators from the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Brazil.

Add your name by clicking here. (Even if you've already done so for years.)

After doing this action, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $5 now.

Thank you!

-- The RootsAction.org team

Background:
>> Congressional Letter to the Attorney General
>> PEN: "PEN America Urges Attorney General to Drop Charges Against Assange"
>> Progressive Hub: "U.S. Once Planned To Kill Assange But Gives 'Assurances' It Won't Again"
>> Common Dreams: "CIA Whistleblower Reflects on Persecution of Julian Assange"
>> New York Times: "Major News Outlets Urge U.S. to Drop Its Charges Against Assange"

RootsAction.org