How long was Chelsea Manning in prison and when was she released?

Chelsea Manning spent several years in prison for leaking classified US military information to WikiLeaks before being released in 2017. Manning, who is transgender and a former US military intelligence officer, was behind Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks publications.

In 2010 and 2011, WikiLeaks, a whistleblower media organization, released thousands of classified U.S. military information and files of diplomatic cables. These leaks exposed critical issues related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, such as human rights violations and civilian deaths. Officials claimed it threatened their national security and the lives of their staff.

The US authorities demanded the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was under European investigation at the time. Meanwhile, Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the leaks and went to prison. She got 35 years in prison. Manning served her sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, until 2017.

How long was Chelsea Manning in prison?

Chelsea Manning spent seven years in prison on charges stemming from WikiLeaks publications. According to CNBC TV 18, the US Department of Justice filed a report against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. The report indicated that the duo illegally conspired “to receive and obtain documents, letters and notes related to the country’s defense, including materials classified up to SECRET.”

The Guardian reported that Manning faced 22 charges, of which she pleaded guilty to ten. She later went on trial on seven remaining charges, six of which were espionage. A military tribunal convicted her in 2013. Following her guilty verdict, Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. She avoided a life sentence after a judge rejected the government’s high treason charges.

Then, in 2017, Chelsea Manning was in prison when then-President Barack Obama commuted her long prison sentence before his term was up. At the time, Obama also released a statement: “I feel very comfortable that justice was served and that the message continued to be sent regarding our national security.”

Since her release, Manning has been vocal about her imprisonment, according to ABC News. The former inmate published a memoir titled README.txt in 2022, in which she revealed that she spent a year in solitary confinement. In January 2024, Manning, now an anti-secrecy activist and whistleblower, spoke at the 50th annual Poetry Project New Year’s Eve Marathon in New York City. She also reflected on the power of “silence,” “self-reflection,” and “introspection.”

In a previous 2017 interview after her release from prison, Chelsea Manning touched on the motives behind the WikiLeaks saga. During an interview with ABC News, she admitted that she released the documents to make people question the role of the military and US foreign policy. The former intelligence officer claimed she did not intend to pose a threat to the country’s national security.

According to The New York Times, during her military court trial, Chelsea Manning admitted to sharing secret files. She also alleged that she had contacted someone online, possibly WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. She also admitted that she did not work for the whistleblower organization, but merely acted out of principle.

Testimony during the trial showed that Manning encountered personal problems when she released documents to WikiLeaks. Then referred to as Pfc. According to reports by Bradley Manning, her mental and emotional state was deteriorating during this time. Additionally, Manning struggled with gender dysphoria in a high-stress environment and struggled with isolation during her deployment to Iraq.

The popular documentary XY Chelsea also returns to the case against Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks.