Julian Assange, the fugitive founder of WikiLeaks and publisher of state secrets that embarrassed governments across the world, was arrested in London on Thursday almost seven years after he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Assange was wanted by British police for skipping bail in August 2012, while he was under investigation for sexual assault and rape in Sweden.
London’s Metropolitan Police said the Ecuadorian government had withdrawn asylum for Assange, adding that officers had been “invited into the embassy by the ambassador.”
Footage shot by the Ruptly news agency showed a bedraggled Assange being carried out of the building by seven men.
As he was bundled into a waiting police van, Assange shouted: “You must resist. You can resist … the U.K. must resist.”
He was taken to a local police station and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court “as soon as is possible,” authorities said.
The Australian national has maintained that if forced to leave the embassy he would eventually be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
The group has repeatedly claimed that the Justice Department is building a criminal case centered on the leaking of Democratic emails hacked by the Russians in the 2016 election.
Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006 and made news four years later with the publication of leaked information provided by Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and self-described whistleblower.
