WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. (Photo by New Media Days/Peter Erichsen via Flickr)

Assange, who is believed to be in Britain, could be extradited to Sweden as early as this weekend to face the charges. 

But his lawyer, Mark Stephens, said Assange will fight deportation, because it could lead to him being handed over to the U.S.

Last week Assange began releasing U.S. diplomatic cables that have caused tremendous backlash both in the U.S. and abroad. Some senior U.S. politicians have even called for his exection.

Republican Mike Huckabee said that "whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty."

In an outburst on Facebook, Sarah Palin said Assange "is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands."

The WikiLeaks website had to switch to a Swiss address Saturday because the site's U.S. service provider, Amazon, shut it down, citing violation of the terms of its contract. There have also been multiple attacks on the website since the release of the diplomatic cables.

Read more about the new warrant here. Find out more about Assange's lawyer here.