Chelsea Manning Locked Up For Refusing To Testify Against WikiLeaks
A judge sent former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to prison Friday after Manning refused to testify about leaking sensitive documents to WikiLeaks in front of a grand jury.
U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton issued the order sending Manning to prison, The Associated Press reported. Manning rejected providing further testimony, saying that no additional statements are necessary following the former analyst’s court martial appearance, the AP reported.
Manning “will accept whatever you bring upon me,” according to the AP. Manning’s lawyers have requested home confinement instead of prison time.
Formerly known as “Bradley,” the transgender military analyst ascended into the public limelight after leaking over 700,000 sensitive documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. Manning was convicted and imprisoned from 2010 to 2017 for violating the Espionage Act.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison but was freed after former President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence before leaving office. After being released from prison, Manning sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for a Senate seat in Maryland.
Manning received sex reassignment surgery in October 2018, marking what was then the culmination of a longtime saga regarding Manning’s gender identity and military status after leaking classified documents to the public.
The Pentagon paid for the first U.S. active-duty soldier to have a sex change operation in November 2017. There were 3,200 gender affirmation surgeries in the U.S. in 2016, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPC) reported in May 2017.
Manning has not been shy about public displays of distain for military authority and law enforcement. Manning tweeted a picture of a burning American flag on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Jan. 9, writing “F**k the police.”
fuck the police ???????????? #LawEnforcementAppreciationDay pic.twitter.com/1nNZ57eyYS
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) January 9, 2019
Manning’s prison sentence comes after the Trump administration announced in October 2018 that it would define gender as determined “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” according to a memo obtained by The New York Times. The definition would define gender as either female or male, according to the person’s genitalia at birth. Discrepancies would be determined by genetic testing, the memo indicates.
Officials promised to publish the new definition in January 2019, but no memo has been produced thus far.
Manning will remain in prison until the grand jury concludes its investigation or the former analyst agrees to testify, according to the AP.
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