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Defenders of Assange demonstrate in central London, May 2, 2019. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls

Since 2018, the founder of WikiLeaks was prosecuted only for hacking in the United States. This time, the grand jury investigating him, takes out the heavy artillery.

With our correspondent in San Francisco , Eric de Salve

Julian Assange, who now has 18 indictments across the Atlantic, is notably charged with violating the Espionage Act.

" It's madness, " WikiLeaks immediately reacted to Twitter's announcement of 17 new charges against its founder. " This is the end of journalism on national security, continues the organization , and the end of the first amendment, " guaranteeing freedom of expression.

This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment. https://t.co/wlhsmsenFw

WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 23, 2019

An argument swept by Washington, because Julian Assange is not a journalist, according to the US Department of Justice. " No responsible journalist would knowingly publish the names of confidential sources in a war zone knowing that it would expose them to the greatest danger, " a department official told a news conference.

The 18 charges against Assange are all related to his role in the mass leak of confidential documents on his WikiLeaks site in 2010. " The greatest threat to classified information in the history of the United States, for the benefit of its adversaries, "the Justice Ministry said in a statement , adding that Assange is notably indicted for endangering the lives of US military intelligence sources.

The United States also accuses the 47-year-old man, detained in London and subject to extradition proceedings in the United States, of " conspiring " with former military analyst Chelsea Manning, who was originally of this unprecedented flight.

Julian Assange was arrested last April at the Embassy of Ecuador where he had fled since 2012.