Julian Assange charged in conspiracy to hack Pentagon computers with Chelsea Manning

Julian Assange.
(Image credit: GM Stock Films/ iStock)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was charged Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice after being arrested by police at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

The case concerns "one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States," the Justice Department alleged in a press release. He faces up to five years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.