From the BBC. Look I understand why the US military/intelligence Community should be annoyed by this. But US citizens should celebrate.Documents published by Wikileaks relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan revealed how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents.
The US has already charged Assange with a single count of participating in the hacking of intelligence computers to reveal controversial intelligence operations in the United States.
If found guilty, Assange could be jailed for up to five years.
The killing of civilians by US troops is terrible, bringing this to light means making America a better place. Trying to convict someone who may have conspired to leak this is bad for free speech, for criticism of the govt, it is bad for being a free nation able to look critically at yourselves.
Assange may in fact be an assholes. And I don't want to support him, I want to see him tried for sexual assault charges in Sweden (I have second/third hand personal reports of his assholeness, which drove many people away from the wikileaks project). And he should be held responsible his actions. But journalists and leaker need to be protected in law.
We need to be able to have good actors safely able to report on the crimes of institutions in order to prevent abuse of power. This is the only way to protect the public interest; and whistle blowers like Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are heroes.