Pink Floyd Roger Waters demands freeing Assange at Washington rally
Pink Floyd's Roger Waters speaks out on Wednesday for Julian Assange outside the Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
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Roger Waters dedicated "Wish You Were Here" to Assange outside the British Home Office in central London in 2019
At a protest in front of the Justice Department in Washington, on Wednesday, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters urged the US government to free Julian Assange and warned that it could kill him.
In June, the UK approved the extradition of Assange to the United States. The US claims it wants him to stand trial for breaching the US Espionage Act by disclosing military and diplomatic information in 2010. He may face up to 175 years in prison if proven guilty, though the exact term of the sentence is difficult to predict.
"Julian is still in [London's] Belmarsh prison, he is still on the way to be extradited to the United States where the government of the United States can kill him in private," Waters said. "Merrick Garland, do the right thing. Free Julian Assange at lunchtime today, please."
Today @rogerwaters spoke out outside the DOJ to call on Merrick Garland to free @wikileaks publisher Julian Assange.
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 17, 2022
"All you can do is keep doing what you're doing. Never, ever shut up," he told anti-war and pro-Assange activists.
"Free Assange!" pic.twitter.com/L5kEQyfF18
Waters warned that Assange's stay in prison is making him sicker and pushing him closer to death and called on the protestors to "never, never shut up" and keep doing what they are doing until Assange is free.
They held banners with slogans like "Free Assange, Free Press," and "Roger, we live your politics."
Waters was greeted with applause while many bystanders stopped to listen to his speech.
Waters was standing on a banner with the sign of the Justice Department which said the department was "criminalizing journalism."
In between stops on his “This Is Not A Drill” tour @rogerwaters found time to show up at the DOJ and demand the release of Julian Assange
— Anya Parampil (@anyaparampil) August 17, 2022
He called on Merrick Garland to obey the rule of law as opposed to the security state pic.twitter.com/17aFJpvudX
During the protest, a small truck car was driving back and forth with sayings on its sides, such as "First Amendment. If he goes it Goes. Save him. Save it," and "US commits war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and then persecutes the journalist who exposed it. Jail the killers not the messenger."
Waters showed up in the rally while on his 2022 "This Is Not a Drill" Tour. Some US politicians have criticized Waters for his recent accusations of President Joe Biden fueling the conflict in Ukraine.
