The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is troublesome for journalists and Americans, 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday on CNN.
Assange was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London early Thursday after Ecuador revoked his diplomatic asylum.
"I think what's happening here is, unfortunately, it is some form of retaliation coming from the government saying, 'Hey, this is what happens when you release information that we don't want you to release,'" Rep. Gabbard, D-Hawaii told "The Lead."
"And I think that's why this is such a dangerous and slippery slope, not only for journalists, not only for those in the media, but also for every American that our government can and has the power to kind of lay down the hammer to say, 'Be careful, be quiet, and fall in line, otherwise we have the means to come after you.'"
Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also expressed concern about Assange's arrest.
"To my knowledge, the specific charges that were raised for his extradition were even ones that the Obama administration entertained but turned down because it was kind of beyond the pale in terms of an attack on journalism and journalists," Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said, according to Fox News. "So, I'm concerned by that specific aspect, very much so in this situation."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.