WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to his home country of Australia as a free man, following a plea agreement with the U.S. government. Assange landed in the Australian capital Canberra today to cheers from supporters. His arrival caps a more than 12-year legal ordeal after Assange published classified documents detailing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press freedom groups have denounced successive U.S. administrations for targeting Assange, who faced 175 years in a U.S. prison if he had been extradited and convicted on espionage and hacking charges.

On Tuesday, Assange flew from London to the Pacific island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where he pleaded guilty in a U.S. district court to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material. He was granted credit for time served during his imprisonment at London’s Belmarsh Prison and allowed to walk free. This is Assange’s lawyer, Barry Pollack.

Barry Pollack: “The court today determined that no harm was caused by Mr. Assange’s publications. We know that they were newsworthy. We know that they were quoted by every major media outlet on the planet. And we know that they revealed important information. That is called journalism. The United States prosecuted that. They exposed Mr. Assange to 175 years in prison. That is what has a chilling effect. Today a decision that it’s time for Mr. Assange to go home, that doesn’t have a chilling effect. The chilling effect is the United States pursuing journalism as a crime. I hope this is the first and last time that ever occurs.”

We’ll have more on the historic release of Julian Assange after headlines.