Julian Assange reaches plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free --The WikiLeaks founder has been held in a prison outside London for the last five years and fought extradition to the United States. He is expected to return to Australia. | 24 June 2024 | WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge this week as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison, according to court documents. Assange was charged by criminal information -- which typically signifies a plea deal -- with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents say. A letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie to U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands said that Assange would appear in court at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (or, 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday) to plead guilty and said that DOJ expects Assange will return to Australia, his country of citizenship, after the proceedings.