WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has returned to X after an eight-year personal absence, saying his last tweet was in 2018 and that his defense campaign operated the account afterward.
Julian Assange Returns to X After 8 Years
On Thursday, Assange, 55, announced his return with a photo taken in Sydney, Australia, showing him standing beneath a poster featuring his image.
“I’m back,” Assange wrote on X.
The post came through the WikiLeaks account, marking his first personal return to the platform in years.
Assange later pushed back against a report that he had only been away from X for roughly two years. The report referred to a June 2024 post made on his account.
“8 years, polymarket. last tweet 2018. account then run by my defense campaign as @DefendAssange,” he wrote.
Assange’s X account briefly disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2017. The account returned the following morning, although the platform did not explain the brief disappearance.
WikiLeaks Rise and US Legal Battle
Assange gained international prominence after founding WikiLeaks in 2006, a platform designed to let whistleblowers anonymously share classified documents, videos and other sensitive material.
Although WikiLeaks released material concerning numerous countries, the U.S. government under Donald Trump brought the most significant legal action against Assange in 2019, charging him with 17 counts under the Espionage Act.
Assange was initially arrested in London in 2010 under a Swedish warrant over sexual assault allegations.
After being released on bail while fighting extradition, he sought asylum inside Ecuador’s London embassy in 2012, following a court ruling that allowed his transfer to Sweden to face trial.
He had spent nearly seven years inside the embassy while facing legal proceedings and a U.S. extradition request.
Assange Released From Prison In 2024
His return to social media comes more than two years after his release from London’s Belmarsh prison in June 2024.
His plea deal was reached as pressure grew on then-President Joe Biden’s administration to end the long-running legal case against Assange.
As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Assange pleaded guilty to one count of espionage. His 62-month sentence was credited as time already served, allowing him to leave prison.
He subsequently returned to Australia, arriving in Canberra on June 26, 2024, and has since lived there with his family.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Karl Nesh on Shutterstock.com
