The moment Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London on April 11 was captured on camera.
A videographer with Ruptly, a service of state-owned Russia Today, was on hand to witness approximately nine police officers carry Assange out of the embassy and into a waiting police van.
Ecuador withdrew Assange’s Ecuadorian citizenship, which it granted last year, and expelled him from the embassy, allowing the police to arrest him inside.
Wikileaks said that Ecuador “illegally terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law.”
Julian Assange being dragged out of the embassy (pic courtesy of RT) pic.twitter.com/DoGRyNetkZ
— Ahron Young (@AhronYoung) April 11, 2019
After Assange was bundled away, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that he was arrested pursuant to the U.S./UK Extradition Treaty, in connection with a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
Assange allegedly engaged in a conspiracy with Bradley Manning, now known as Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army. Officials said that Assange worked with Manning to crack a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network, which stores U.S. government classified documents and communications.
“Manning, who had access to the computers in connection with her duties as an intelligence analyst, was using the computers to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures,” the department stated.
“During the conspiracy, Manning and Assange engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission of classified records to Assange. The discussions also reflect Assange actively encouraging Manning to provide more information. During an exchange, Manning told Assange that ‘after this upload, that’s all I really have got left.’ To which Assange replied, ‘curious eyes never run dry in my experience,'” the department added.
Assange faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted.
Assange was also pictured arriving in a police vehicle to Westminster Magistrates Court shortly after being arrested.
Sporting a long white beard, Assange gave people a thumbs up and a V sign. He also was seen resting his chin in one hand with a thoughtful expression on his face and winking.
Assange entered a not guilty plea in the court to a charge that he failed to surrender to custody under an order for his extradition to Sweden.
Assange faced sexual assault allegations in Sweden when he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London 2012. The sexual assault charges have since been dropped, but a charge of skipping bail remained in place.
Judge Michael Snow quickly found Assange guilty and he faces a sentence of up to 12 months for the conviction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.