Seth Rich on July 4. (Photo via Twitter)

Transparency organization Wikileaks announced today that it is offering $20,000 for information that would lead to the conviction of Seth Rich’s murderer.

Rich, a 27-year-old staffer with the Democratic National Committee, was fatally shot on July 10 in Bloomingdale.

Seth Rich on July 4. (Photo via Twitter)

Last week, Rich’s family hosted a press conference with D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, imploring people with information on his death to come forward with tips. MPD is offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of the responsible parties, as they do for all District homicides.

While Rich’s parents say that their son died in a botched robbery attempt, Lanier said last Thursday that, while that remains a possibility, “right now we have more questions than answers.”

The victim’s watch, wallet, and credit cards were still at the scene when police found him wounded at the corner of Flagler Place and W Street NW around 4:20 a.m. He died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

It’s not clear why Wikileaks is offering a reward. Rich’s death has raised the suspicions of online conspiracy theorists, who are drawing connections between his unsolved murder and the leak of DNC emails, which were published by Wikileaks. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange implied in an interview with a Dutch television station that Rich could have been a source of the emails.

In a statement provided to The Washington Post through an intermediary, Wikileaks said that “We treat threats towards any suspected WikiLeaks sources with extreme gravity. This should not be taken to imply that Seth Rich was a source to WikiLeaks or that his murder is connected to our publications. We hope our efforts will contribute to the family’s calls for information and to the separate reward issued by police. We have a history of obtaining information that has significantly contributed to many legal proceedings, including successful prosecutions.”

Brad Bauman, a spokesperson working for Rich’s family, told NBC News that “some are attempting to politicize this horrible tragedy, and in their attempts to do so, are actually causing more harm than good and impeding on the ability for law enforcement to properly do their job. For the sake of finding Seth’s killer, and for the sake of giving the family the space they need at this terrible time, they are asking for the public to refrain from pushing unproven and harmful theories about Seth’s murder.”

For their part, D.C. Police say they are continuing to chase down leads. “At this time, there is no indication that Seth Rich’s death is connected to his employment at the DNC,” MPD said in a statement provided to DCist. “However, we welcome information that could potentially lead to the identification of the individual(s) responsible for his death and are pleased when any outside contributors help us generate new leads.”

Updated with comment from MPD, Wikileaks, and Rich family spokesperson. Police are asking anyone with information to call 202-727-9099 or text 50411.

Filed Under: bloomingdale, crime, d.c. police, dnc, mpd, Seth Conrad Rich, seth rich, wikileaks,