Two protesters stormed the stage at a Q&A with the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Wednesday to call for the release of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.
The event, organized by Washington Post, marked the World Press Freedom Day.
Columnist, David Ignatius was interviewing Blinken about press freedom and current global events when one of the protesters held a sign saying “Free Julian Assange.”
“Excuse us, we can’t use this day without calling for the freedom of Julian Assange,” the woman said before she was quickly apprehended by security and the audio feed from the event was cut. When the audio returns, the woman can be heard yelling for the Biden administration to drop its extradition request for Julian Assange as she is dragged off the stage. Blinken urged the security to “take it easy” with the woman as they were dragging her away before he returns to his interview.
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Assange, the founder of Wikileaks who helped publish leaked security documents from Bradley Manning in 2010, faces a number of charges in the United States for violating the Espionage Act.
Assange is currently imprisoned in the United Kingdom for violating the Bail Act when he fled authorities and sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and is facing extradition proceedings from the United States.
