Sen. Manchin celebrates Assange arrest: ‘He’s our property’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Thursday celebrated the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying that it will “be really good to get him back on United States soil.”

“He’s our property. We can get the facts and the truth from him,” Manchin added during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

“It will be really good to get him back on United States soil,” says @Sen_JoeManchin on Julian Assange’s arrest.

“He is our property and we can get the facts and the truth from him.” https://t.co/fLnA1AKrpJ pic.twitter.com/0pKuILT6NP

— New Day (@NewDay) April 11, 2019

Assange, who published hacked emails from 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton‘s campaign, was arrested earlier Thursday in London on behalf of the U.S., according to authorities. He is expected to soon appear in court.

Assange was “arrested on behalf of the United States authorities … after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act,” London police said in a statement. He is being charged with computer hacking related to leaks provided by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning that were published in 2010 and 2011. 

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Assange published emails from Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. 

The hacked emails were thought to have aided Russia’s efforts to influence the election, though Assange has defended his actions by saying he was working as a journalist.