The arrest without bail of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday has left the organization in a state of uncertainty, despite transition plans laid out prior to his surrender to British police, according to one dispirited WikiLeaks activist who spoke to Threat Level on condition of anonymity. ... Assange left Icelandic television journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson in charge of the group in his absence, the activist said. But now the embattled organization's secrecy and compartmentalization are apparently hindering its operations. ... Specifically, midlevel WikiLeaks staffers have been mostly cut off from communicating with hundreds of volunteers whose contact information was stored in Assange's private online-messaging accounts, and never shared with others. ... "There is an ongoing plan, but that plan was only introduced to a few staffers — key staffers," explained the source. "We are experiencing chaos." ... And when Assange's autocratic leadership style was challenged by some staffers last year, he described his importance to the organization in no uncertain terms. "I am the heart and soul of this organization, its founder, philosopher, spokesperson, original coder, organizer, financier and all the rest." ... His absence, says the source, is being felt acutely. "The organization will most likely start to fall apart now."