Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning
photograph
Manning in 2022
Born (1987-12-17) December 17, 1987 (age 36)
Oklahoma City, U.S.
Known forClassified document disclosure to WikiLeaks
Political partyDemocratic
Criminal charge(s)Violating the Espionage Act, stealing government property, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, multiple counts of disobeying orders[1]
Criminal penalty35 years imprisonment (commuted to 7 years total confinement), reduction in rank to private (E-1 or PVT), forfeiture of all pay and allowances, dishonorable discharge[2]
Military career
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service
RankPrivate (formerly Specialist)
Unit2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division (former)
Awards
Signature
Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning[3] (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower.[4][5][6] She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents.[7] She was imprisoned from 2010 until 2017 when her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama.[8] A trans woman, Manning said in 2013 that she had a female gender identity since childhood and wanted to be known as Chelsea Manning.[9]

Assigned in 2009 to an Army unit in Iraq as an intelligence analyst, Manning had access to classified databases. In early 2010, she leaked classified information to WikiLeaks and confided this to Adrian Lamo, an online acquaintance.[10] Lamo indirectly informed the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, and Manning was arrested in May 2010.[11] The material included videos of the July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike and the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan; 251,287 U.S. diplomatic cables;[12] and 482,832 Army reports that came to be known as the "Iraq War Logs"[13] and "Afghan War Diary".[14] The material was published by WikiLeaks and its media partners between April 2010 and April 2011.

Manning was charged with 22 offenses, including aiding the enemy, which was the most serious charge and could have resulted in a death sentence.[15] She was held at the Marine Corps Brig, Quantico in Virginia, from July 2010 to April 2011, under Prevention of Injury status—which entailed de facto solitary confinement and other restrictions that caused domestic and international concern[16]—before being transferred to the Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she could interact with other detainees.[17] In February 2013 she pleaded guilty to 10 of the charges.[18] The trial on the remaining charges began on June 3, 2013, and on July 30, she was convicted of 17 of the original charges and amended versions of four others, but acquitted of aiding the enemy.[19] She was sentenced to 35 years at the maximum-security U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.[20][21] On January 17, 2017, Obama commuted Manning's sentence to nearly seven years of confinement dating from her arrest in May 2010.[8][22][23] After release, Manning makes her living through speaking engagements.[24]

In 2018, Manning challenged incumbent Senator Ben Cardin for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate election in her home state of Maryland.[25] She received 6.1% of the vote; Cardin won renomination with 79.2%.[26]

From March 8, 2019, to March 12, 2020, Manning was jailed for contempt and fined $256,000 for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.[27][28]

  1. ^ Tate, Julie; Londoño, Ernesto (July 30, 2013). "Bradley Manning found not guilty of aiding the enemy, convicted on other charges". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tate21Aug2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Londoño, Ernesto (April 23, 2014). "Convicted leaker Bradley Manning changes legal name to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  4. ^ "Whistleblower Chelsea Manning sent back to jail". RFI. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Public importance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Butterworth, Benjamin (January 15, 2018). "Transgender activist Chelsea Manning's Senate video listed as 'inappropriate' by YouTube". PinkNews. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Manning, Chelsea E. (May 27, 2015). "The years since I was jailed for releasing the 'war diaries' have been a rollercoaster". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Savage, Charlie (January 17, 2017). "Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning's Sentence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Manning, Chelsea E. (August 22, 2013). "The Next Stage of My Life". Press release. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. ...I also request that...you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun.... Thank you, Chelsea E. Manning
  10. ^ Hansen, Evan (July 13, 2011). "Manning-Lamo Chat Logs Revealed". Wired. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  11. ^ "Alleged Army Whistleblower Felt "Isolated"". CBS News. July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  12. ^ "Secret US Embassy Cables". WikiLeaks. November 28, 2010. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  13. ^ "Iraq War logs". WikiLeaks. October 22, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  14. ^ "Afghan War diary". WikiLeaks. July 25, 2010. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  15. ^ Miklaszewski, Jim; Kube, Courtney (March 2, 2011). "Manning faces new charges, possible death penalty". MSNBC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  16. ^ Nicks 2012, pp. 237, 246
  17. ^ "WikiLeaks suspect transferred to Fort Leavenworth". The Oklahoman. Associated Press. April 19, 2011. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  18. ^ "Judge accepts Manning's guilty pleas in WikiLeaks case". CBS News. February 28, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  19. ^ Pilkington, Ed (July 31, 2013). "Bradley Manning verdict: cleared of 'aiding the enemy' but guilty of other charges". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2016. the soldier was found guilty in their entirety of 17 out of the 22 counts against him, and of an amended version of four others.
  20. ^ Sledge, Matt (August 21, 2013). "Bradley Manning Sentenced To 35 Years In Prison For WikiLeaks Disclosures". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  21. ^ Hanna, John (August 21, 2013). "Manning to Serve Sentence at Famous Leavenworth". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013.
  22. ^ "Chelsea Manning freed from prison decades early". BBC News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  23. ^ "President Obama Grants Commutations and Pardons". obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. January 17, 2017. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ^ Fritze, John (February 16, 2018). "Is Chelsea Manning's Senate campaign for real? 'I'm willing to put myself out there'". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  25. ^ Jouvenal, Justin (January 13, 2018). "Chelsea Manning files to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  26. ^ "2018 Primary Election Results". The Baltimore Sun. June 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  27. ^ Katelyn Polantz; Veronica Stracqualursi; Mark Morales (March 12, 2020). "Federal judge orders Chelsea Manning's release from jail". CNN. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  28. ^ Gosztola, Kevin (March 12, 2020). "Federal Judge Orders Chelsea Manning Released from Jail". Consortium News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.