When It Comes to Freedom of Speech, Julian Assange Is the Least of Our Worries

Fellow Americans! The moment we’ve feared is upon us! Delete those visits to nevertrump.org from your browsing history! Burn your paper copies of the New York Times! Move your printing presses to a secure location!

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested! The end of free speech in the United States is nigh!

Except, not really.

While the arrest was very obviously politically motivated, the details of the single-count indictment against Assange make it clear that, at least for now, our First Amendment rights are still mostly intact. If that wasn’t the case, he’d be charged with a lot more than just helping Chelsea Manning access a computer illegally.

Sure, there’s some debate as to whether the allegations made against Assange are actual crimes or just fall within the scope of what a journalist has to do to protect their sources, but either way, a person’s right to publicly share potentially damaging information about the government is not on trial here.

However, none of the above is meant to imply that our First Amendment rights will forever and always be safe and secure under Trump.

No, he definitely wants you to shut your leftist mouth and would love if the law required as…