Chelsea Manning freed from Kansas military prison
Chelsea Manning
FOX NEWS - Pvt. Chelsea Manning, the transgender soldier convicted of giving classified government materials to WikiLeaks, was freed from a Kansas military prison early Wednesday morning after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence.
Manning left Fort Leavenworth at around 2 a.m. local time, the U.S. Army confirmed. President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency in his final days in office in January.
Manning, who was known as Bradley Manning before transitioning in prison, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud. She was acquitted of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy.
The Crescent, Oklahoma, native tweeted after being granted clemency that she planned to move to Maryland. Neither she nor her attorneys explained why, but she has an aunt who lives there.
Manning, a former intelligence analyst in Iraq, has acknowledged leaking the materials, which included battlefield video. She said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military's disregard of the effects of war on civilians and that she released information that she didn't believe would harm the U.S.