As Julian Assange awaits his fate, socked away in maximum security lockdown in Great Britain, his supporters and friends—many of whom believe he is one of the most significant publishers of our time—are vigiling, writing, and speaking out in support of his work and calling for his immediate release.

I spoke to legendary Pentagon Paperswhistleblower Daniel Ellsberg the morning after Assange was dragged outof the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, with the eyes of the world watching the scene unfold in real time.

Ellsberg says he is both outraged and deeply concerned about the impact this case might have on the free press. "Without whistleblowers," Ellsberg tells me in the following interview, "we would not have a democracy."