WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday floated a theory that the Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot dead in the streets of Washington last month had been targeted because the operative was an informant.
In an interview on Dutch television, the Australian cyberactivist invoked the unsolved killing of Seth Rich, 27, earlier this summer to illustrate the risks of being a source for his organization.
Citing WikiLeaks protocol, Assange refused to confirm whether or not Rich was in fact a source for WikiLeaks, which has released thousands of internal DNC emails, some of them politically embarrassing. Experts and U.S. government officials reportedly believe that hackers linked to the Russian government infiltrated the DNC and gave the email trove to WikiLeaks.
But Assange was apparently interested in hinting about an even darker theory.
“Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material, and often very significant risks. There’s a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, who was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington,” Assange said on Nieuwsuur. BuzzFeed drew more attention to the interview in the U.S.
Somewhat startled, news anchor Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal said, “That was just a robbery, I believe — wasn’t it?”
“No, there’s no finding,” Assange responded. “I’m suggesting that our sources take risks, and they become concerned to see things occurring like that.”
“Why make the suggestion about a young guy being shot in the streets of Washington?” van Rosenthal asked.
“Because we have to understand how high the stakes are in the United States,” Assange said, “and that our sources face serious risks. That’s why they come to us, so we can protect their anonymity.”
The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington has not established a motive for the killing but reportedly told the young man’s family that he likely died during a robbery attempt turned tragic. His father, however, told Omaha CBS-affiliate KMTV he did not think it was a robbery because nothing was stolen: his watch, money, credit cards and phone were still with him.
The WikiLeaks founder said that others have suggested that Rich was killed for political reasons and that his organization is investigating the incident.
“I think it is a concerning situation. There isn’t a conclusion yet. We wouldn’t be able to state a conclusion, but we are concerned about it,” he continued. “More importantly, a variety of WikiLeaks sources are concerned when that kind of thing happens.”
WikiLeaks further fanned the flames of conspiracy by offering a $20,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for killing Rich.