The father and brother of award-winning Australian journalist Julian Assange toured the United States in June 2021, calling on the U.S. government to drop its prosecution and finally let Julian come home.
John and Gabriel Shipton’s #HomeRun4Julian tour began in Miami on June 6 and included several stops on both coasts and throughout the Midwest before concluding in the nation’s capital, at the National Press Club and the Department of Justice.
Assange’s family members met with activists, press, and policymakers to raise awareness of the importance of protecting whistleblowers and journalists, and to advocate for the release of Julian Assange.
Ongoing playlist of event videos
&
Press coverage highlights from the tour
| Miami Video: Panel event hosted by Jen Perelman | Milwaukee Videos: John & Gabriel Shipton meet supporters at the Sunburst Sculpture |
| Boston Video: Julian wins 2021 Sacco-Vanzetti Award | Madison Interviews: WORT Radio & The Progressive |
| New York Video: Roger Waters, Chris Hedges, Aaron Maté, Randy Credico | Minneapolis / St Paul Videos: Panel with local journalists Rally at Highland Park Picnic Pavillion |
| Philadelphia Video: John & Gabriel Shipton at the First Amendment monument | Denver Videos: Press Conference & State Capitol rally |
| Washington D.C. Video: Marianne Williamson, Chip Gibbons, & Ryan Grim | Oakland Videos: Rally with Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Dan Ellsberg |
| Online panel Video: Separating Fact from Fiction Fidel Narvaez, John Kiriakou & Ray McGovern | Los Angeles Video: Panel Marjorie Cohn, Stephen Rohde, Jody Armour |
| Columbus, OH Video: Statehouse rally | Washington D.C. Video: Cornel West joins John & Gabriel Shipton |
| Chicago Video: Kevin Gosztola, Jerome McDonnell, Chris Geovanis, Flint Taylor | Photos: Last stop: Rally at the Department of Justice |
Washington D.C.
Cornel West & Ryan Grim join John & Gabriel Shipton
at the National Press Club
Rally at the DOJ with Max Blumenthal, Anya Parampil,
Ben Norton, Randy Credico, & many more
Los Angeles
Panel with Marjorie Cohn, Stephen Rohde, Jody Armour
Rally in west Los Angeles
Oakland
Rally with Alice Walker & new video statements from
Daniel Ellsberg & Noam Chomsky
Pentagon Papers whistleblower
Daniel Ellsberg
Statement from Noam Chomsky
Denver
Press Conference
Rally at the State Capitol
Minneapolis / St. Paul
Rally at the Highland Park Pavilion
Free Speech, Freedom of the Press, and the Fight for Economic and Racial Justice
A panel of local independent journalists in conversation with Julian Assange’s father and brother at the East Side Freedom Library
Madison
Interview with WORT Radio (beginning at 43:21)
Interview with The Progressive magazine
Milwaukee
Chicago
Rally with Kevin Gosztola, Jerome McDonnell, Chris Geovanis, Flint Taylor
Columbus, Ohio
Washington D.C.
Panel discussion: John & Gabriel Shipton, Marianne Williamson, Ryan Grim & Chip Gibbons
Jefferson Memorial
With Grayzone reporter Max Blumenthal
Online Panel: Separating Fact from Fiction
John & Gabriel Shipton, Fidel Narvaez, John Kiriakou, & Ray McGovern
Philadelphia
First Amendment Monument
New York City
Reception for John & Gabriel Shipton with Roger Waters, Chris Hedges, Aaron Maté, & Randy Credico
Boston
Julian Assange presented with the 2021 Sacco-Vanzetti Social Justice Award
Miami
Panel event hosted by Jen Perelman, with Mara Shlackman, Scott Luxor, and Nicolas Davies
Press Clippings
NBC: Family of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Rally for His Freedom in Oakland
Gabriel Shipton, Assange’s brother, said dropping the extradition request could help the Biden Administration re-establish the idea that the United States is on a “moral high ground” when confronting overseas authoritarian states.
“They often get Assange thrown back in their faces,” Shipton said. “‘Look at what you’re doing to Assange, how could you confront us on our human rights or press freedoms?’ We’ve seen this with the Russian ambassador to the U.K.”
Noam Chomsky, renowned linguist and historian, said [dropping] the charges Assange faces [is] not sufficient, and he should instead be honored for his service of releasing information that has been extremely valuable to the American public.
“This gross miscarriage of injustice prolonged over many cruel years should be ended at once. Julian Assange should not only be free, but should be accorded the great respect that he originally deserves for his contributions,” Chomsky said.
The Independent: ‘We’re feeling the momentum’: Julian Assange family says Reality Winner’s release raises fresh hope
“We’re feeling the momentum really build here, with the press that we’re getting, with all the people we’re getting speaking on our panels, and with this action in the DoJ,” Gabriel Shipton, 39, told The Independent, from Columbus, Ohio, after events in New York and Washington DC. “I think we’re feeling the momentum, and hopefully there’s a change.”
Fox News: ‘An Innocent Man Not Able To See His Family’: Julian Assange’s Father, Brother Speak Out On His Imprisonment
Milwaukee NPR: Julian Assange’s Father And Brother Visit Milwaukee To Promote Their Request To President Biden
Assange’s family members and supporters are trying to get the Biden administration to drop its appeal of the case.
Assange’s father, John Shipton, said there are good reasons for President Joe Biden to do so.
“Well, in the first place, it’s unjust and nobody likes to be seen as being unjust. [Second] in a practical matter because the defense of the First Amendment is a principal responsibility of governments in the United States and it’s in the United States Constitution. Thirdly, it brings no credit the administration of justice in the United States. This would bring great credit to any administration that brought this persecution and prosecution to an end,” John Shipton told WUWM.
…
Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, said Biden has spoken in favor of preserving freedom of the press. “So, I think they should just walk the walk, and drop this case. It’d be a great message to people around the world that they’re serious about press freedom,” he said.
acTVism Munich: Julian Assange’s
Father and Brother Interview
Law & Disorder Radio: Building Support To Free Wikileaks’ Julian Assange
John Shipton speaks with Michael Smith and Heidi Boghosian about the US tour to meet supporters and raise awareness about the case.
Listen here
Star Tribune: Julian Assange indictment is attack on press freedom, his father and brother tell St. Paul forum
The brother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, wanted in the United States for allegedly publishing military and diplomatic secrets, said Monday that people must know what their government is doing “if democracy is to work.”
Gabriel Shipton and Assange’s father, John Shipton, spoke Monday at a St. Paul forum sponsored by Women Against Military Madness. It was part of a monthlong 17-city tour of the United States they’re making to argue that the 17-count federal indictment against their son and brother is an attack on freedom of the press.
“Reporting truth is not a crime,” John Shipton said.
WORT Radio: #FreeAssange
The Australian: ‘Slow motion murder’: family’s race to free Assange
In Washington as part of a 17-city tour to campaign for Julian’s release, his father, John Shipton, said it was “grotesque” that nations were trumpeting human rights at the G7 meeting at Cornwall, in Britain, when Julian had been imprisoned for almost 13 years for publishing evidence of US war crimes in 2010.
“It’s worse than hypocritical, it’s grotesque,” Mr Shipton said on Sunday night in the US with his son Gabriel to help convince the Biden administration to drop attempts to extradite Assange to the US, where he faces 175 years in prison.
Gabriel, a filmmaker, said Julian’s situation was “dire”. “If he doesn’t get out he will die. We’re seeing the slow motion murder of a journalist. It will take sometime for him to get back to his usual self (if he gets out),” he said.