WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been taken to Westminster Magistrates Court after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Photos of the whistleblower defiantly gesturing in a police van have emerged in the media.

UPDATE: Assange pleads not guilty to failing to surrender to bail

Journalist flocked to the white police van carrying the whistleblower into the courthouse. With his hair tied back and sporting a full-length white beard, Assange offered cameras a hardy thumbs up with a wink.

Assange stepped into the courtroom wearing a dark polo shirt and quietly read his Gore Vidal book while he waited for his lawyers to arrive.

READ MORE: Assange arrest final step in character assassination campaign – Slavoj Zizek

The absolute media scrum outside Westminster Magistrates' Court for Assange. pic.twitter.com/KPy3dz0qmd — Stephen Graves (@stephengraves) April 11, 2019

Earlier, Metropolitan Police said in a statement that they arrested Assange on a warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court. The police were “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador,” it said.

Also on rt.com Assange charged with helping Manning crack password to leak classified US docs – DOJ statement

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