More than 100 activists and journalists, including Edward Snowden and Noam Chomsky, signed an open letter to President Donald Trump urging him to end a planned investigation into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
"If the DoJ (Department of Justice) is able to convict a publisher for its journalistic work, all free journalism can be criminalized," the letter read.
"It was a free and robust press that provided you with a platform on which to run for president. Defending a truly free press requires freedom from fear and favor and the support of journalists and citizens everywhere; for the kind of threat now facing WikiLeaks — and all publishers and journalists — is a step into the darkness."
The investigation would be a blow to free speech, "the great virtue of the United States," they wrote.
Others who signed the letter include filmmaker Oliver Stone, musician PJ Harvey, and Ray McGovern, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and retired CIA analyst.
The Courage Foundation, a trust that raises money for legal aid to whistleblowers, released the letter, according to The Guardian.
The U.S. has not prosecuted Assange because he is living in the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain. If he exits the embassy, British authorities have said they will consider an extradition request from Sweden, where he is wanted on an allegation of rape, according to The Guardian.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions told reporters in April that arresting Assange is a "priority."
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