Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven year stay in the Ecuadorian embassy in London has finally come to a disastrous end. After Wikileaks warned last week that Ecuador was preparing in revoke Assange’s asylum based on the claim that he violated its terms, Assange was ousted on Thursday morning, and is now in the custody of British police.

Press reports suggested that Assange was arrested at around 10 am London Time (5 am New York) in what appeared to be a “planned operation.” Though his first battle will be with the British legal system over charges of skipping bail when he sought asylum in 2012, analysts expect that he will eventually face extradition to the US, after a sealed indictment against him were accidentally revealed last year. Wikileaks accused Ecuador of illegally terminating Assange’s asylum, adding that the Ecuadorian ambassador invited police inside the embassy to take Assange into custody.

URGENT: Ecuador has illigally terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law. He was arrested by the British police inside the Ecuadorian embassy minutes ago.https://t.co/6Ukjh2rMKD — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 11, 2019

In a tweet published moments ago, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said that Assange’s “discourteous and aggressive” behavior, as well as “hostile” acts committed by Wikileaks, pushed Ecuador to revoke his asylum. Moreno cited Wikileaks’ publication of sensitive Vatican documents earlier this year as the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. Members of the organization purportedly visited Assange in the embassy after the leak, apparently substantiating suspicions that Assange was still in charge of the organization.

Furthermore, Moreno declared his asylum “unsustainable and no longer viable” because Assange had repeatedly violated “clear cut provisions of the conventions of on diplomatic asylum.”

In a sovereign decision Ecuador withdrew the asylum status to Julian Assange after his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/pZsDsYNI0B — Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) April 11, 2019

Following reports last week that the termination of Assange’s asylum was imminent, a UN envoy on torture warned Ecuador that revoking Assange’s protection would be a violation, since he could face “torture” and mistreatment should he be extradited to the US. Assange’s relationship with his host had become increasingly strained over the past year. Last year, Ecuador briefly revoked some of Assange’s “privileges”, including access to the Internet, over his ‘poor hygiene habits’, the #INAPapers about offshore money laundering, implicating the Ecuadorian president in a corruption scandal.

Edward Snowden reminded journalists of the UN’s finding in a tweet following Assange’s arrest.

Important background for journalists covering the arrest of Julian #Assange by Ecuador: the United Nations formally ruled his detention to be arbitrary, a violation of human rights. They have repeatedly issued statements calling for him to walk free–including very recently. pic.twitter.com/fr12rYdWUF — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 11, 2019

The expulsion comes just a day after Wikileaks held a press conference accusing Ecuador of carrying out an “extensive spying operation” on Assange and handing intel over to the British and American authorities.

RT published video of a bearded, disheveled-looking Assange shouting at police as he was dragged out of the embassy and loaded into a van.

BREAK: Full @Ruptly video of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest by British police this morning pic.twitter.com/tdBw1Kbpxn — Barnaby Nerberka (@barnabynerberka) April 11, 2019

Footage of Assange’s arrest shows him holding a peculiar magazine that some suggested might have been an attempt to send his supporters a message.

What’s this book or magazine that Assange is holding? pic.twitter.com/lHDfw4PiNI — Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) April 11, 2019

Whatever Assange’s intentions might have been, others pointed out that the Wikileaks founder and former hacker was looking seriously vitamin D deficient…his time inside the embassy, where he was largely cut off from sunlight, have clearly taken a toll on him, as this photo from 2012, taken shortly after he arrived, clearly shows.

Journalist Cassandra Fairbanks, who had been in London to protest revocation of the asylum, tweeted what appears to be a first-hand account of the arrest.

They just dragged him out of the embassy. Cucked piece of shit @lenin just let the UK GOVERNMENT GO INSIDE THE EMBASSY TO ARREST A MAN WITH ASYLUM.

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2019

She also pointed out that Moreno will visit Washington DC in five days.

ECUADORIAN PRESIDENT @LENIN WILL BE IN DC IN FIVE DAYS. I AWAIT YOUR VISIT YOU FUCKING MONSTER

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2019

Scotland Yard has confirmed that Assange is in custody.

Julian Assange has been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service https://t.co/yhOIPbmMo2 pic.twitter.com/dUrDp228In — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 11, 2019

Home Secretary Sajid Javid thanked Ecuador for its cooperation, suggesting that pressure from the British government was also a factor in Ecuador’s decision to revoke asylum.

Nearly 7yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law — Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) April 11, 2019

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Ecuador and said Assange was “no hero” and that “no one is above the law.”

Julian Assange is no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years. Thank you Ecuador and President @Lenin Moreno for your cooperation with @foreignoffice to ensure Assange faces justice — Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) April 11, 2019

Foreign office minister Alan Duncan has issued a statement, calling the arrest “absolutely right” and adding that the UK courts will “deicde what happens next.”

“It is absolutely right that Assange will face justice in the proper way in the UK. It is for the courts to decide what happens next. We are very grateful to the government of Ecuador under President Moreno for the action they have taken.”

Infowars’ Kaitlin Bennett asks Trump supporters how they feel when wearing a MAGA hat in public. “Today’s events follow extensive dialogue between our two countries. I look forward to a strong bilateral relationship between the UK and Ecuador in the years ahead.”

A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry denounced the arrest as ‘the hand of democracy squeezing the throat of freedom’.

With Assange facing a complicated, Continent-spanning legal fight, Wikileaks is soliciting donations for its ‘defense fund’ on Twitter.

URGENT: Julian Assange has been arrested by UK police. DONATE:https://t.co/vvbZBOgCwL — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 11, 2019

They also accused the CIA of orchestrating his arrest.

This man is a son, a father, a brother. He has won dozens of journalism awards. He's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2010. Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanise, delegitimize and imprison him. #ProtectJulian pic.twitter.com/dVBf1EcMa5 — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 11, 2019

Assange’s arrest marks the end of an era, and the ignominious close of a nearly decade-long struggle. Much has yet to be determined, including this.

Who will look after #Assange’s cat? 😳 — Testiculi ad Brexitam! 🇪🇺 (@testiculi) April 11, 2019

Amid the chaos…a new hashtag has been born #FreeAssange.

The arrest of @wikileaks founder Julian #Assange by British police is outrageous! #FreeAssange — Andrea Marchello (@AndreaMarchell0) April 11, 2019

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