Meanwhile outside the Ecuadorean embassy, police prepare an Assange trap ready for in case he emerges. pic.twitter.com/qQy11rQGXP
— Phil Gibson (@philgibson01) August 18, 2014
Some see him as Gandalf, one of the protagonists from Tolkien's novels.
The whole "Julian Assange is Gandalf (the White) in the Two Towers" is a pretty awesome meme. Admit it. #OctoberSurprise pic.twitter.com/2O4eGtTf4W
— Brett Mac (@TweetBrettMac) October 4, 2016
A recent picture of Assange with a mullet hairstyle made people notice Assange's resemblance to Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars and Geralt, the protagonist of a series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski and also a trilogy of popular video games, namely "The Witcher."
HAIRSTYLIST: What you want?
— Anna Maltese (@MalteseAnna) May 21, 2017
ASSANGE: My mom's making me a Qui-Gon Jinn costume for Comic Con.
HAIRSTYLIST: Say no more, fam. pic.twitter.com/0mdcXUzzIG
BREAKING: Julian Assange leaving Ecuadorean Embassy to play Geralt on Netflix upcoming Witcher TV show. pic.twitter.com/ub3oFFN6P5
— Joe Clark (@JoeClarkyy) May 21, 2017
And this one is for "I'm Alan Partridge" TV series lovers.
Julian Assange finally leaving the Ecuadorian Embassy. pic.twitter.com/rj9JJYtaaX
— Robin Morgan (@robinjaymorgan) August 18, 2014
In February 2016, a UN panel concluded that Assange has been "arbitrarily detained in violation of international law," setting social media ablaze. Some showed their disagreement with the definition through memes.
#ArbitrarilyDetained pic.twitter.com/Hws2foTjZS
— Niall Gooch (@niall_gooch) February 5, 2016
#ArbitrarilyDetained pic.twitter.com/TC3hfew76G
— Castaignede (@Castaignede) February 4, 2016
I have been #arbitrarilydetained by a cat on the sofa. Please alert the UN with all speed. pic.twitter.com/gOIaqTQedv
— felixthesabot🇪🇺r (@Felixthefemale) February 5, 2016
In October 2016, when Ecuador cut off Assange's Internet access, shortly after the publication of Clinton's Goldman Sachs speeches, netizens couldn't resist tweeting about it.
Julian Assange has been reduced to guessing his neighbors' wireless passwords
— Bobby Big Wheel (@BobbyBigWheel) October 17, 2016
Piss off Julian Assange by asking him "Have you tried turning it off and then turning it on again?"
— Born Miserable (@bornmiserable) October 17, 2016
my wifi goes down: Att tells me to schedule a service appointment a month in advance
— Spencer 🐢 (@Thesixler) October 17, 2016
Assange's wifi goes down: A 'state party' has plotted t
The investigation against Assange began in Sweden in the summer of 2010 at the request of two women who accused him of rape; the whistleblower denied the allegations. Later, a Swedish law enforcement agency issued a warrant for the arrest of Assange. In 2012, he appealed to the Ecuadorian authorities for political asylum and settled at the Ecuadorian Embassy located in the fashionable district of Knightsbridge in the British capital.
On May 19, Swedish prosecutors confirmed that rape charges against Assange had been dropped following a seven-year investigation, but the UK police said it would still have to arrest Assange if he stepped out of the embassy.