Chelsea Manning

Early Life and Military Service

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning was born Bradley Edward Manning on December 17, 1987, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After a childhood marked by family instability, she moved with her mother to Haverfordwest, Wales, where she attended secondary school before returning to the United States. Following a brief period of college study and various jobs, Manning enlisted in the United States Army in September 2007. She trained as an intelligence analyst at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and in October 2009 was deployed to Forward Operating Base Hammer near Baghdad, Iraq, where her duties gave her access to classified military and diplomatic networks and databases.

Disclosures to WikiLeaks

While deployed, Manning downloaded a large volume of classified and sensitive material, including hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan war-related field reports (widely referred to as the "Iraq War Logs" and the "Afghan War Diary"), a 2007 video of a U.S. helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed civilians and journalists (published by WikiLeaks under the title "Collateral Murder"), a cache of Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment files, and roughly 251,000 U.S. State Department diplomatic cables that became known as "Cablegate." In early 2010, Manning transmitted this material to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, which published much of it over the following months in collaboration with several international news organizations.

Arrest and Court-Martial

Manning was arrested by U.S. Army authorities on May 27, 2010, after discussing the disclosures in online chat logs with a former hacker, Adrian Lamo, who reported her to federal authorities. She was held in military custody, including a period of solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Brig in Quantico, Virginia, that drew criticism from human rights organizations and a United Nations special rapporteur. Manning was ultimately charged with 22 offenses, including violations of the Espionage Act and, most seriously, "aiding the enemy." In February 2013, she pleaded guilty to a subset of lesser charges. Her court-martial took place from June through July 2013; on July 30, 2013, a military judge convicted her of espionage, theft, and computer fraud charges but acquitted her of aiding the enemy. On August 21, 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison, at the time the longest sentence ever given in the United States for a leak conviction.

Gender Transition and Imprisonment

The day after her sentencing, Manning announced that she had a female gender identity, stated she wished to be known as Chelsea Manning, and requested hormone therapy, which the military ultimately provided while she was incarcerated at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Her case became a prominent point of reference in debates over transgender health care access within the U.S. military and federal prison systems.

Commutation and Release

On January 17, 2017, in one of his final acts in office, President Barack Obama commuted the remaining portion of Manning's sentence, citing the severity of the original term relative to sentences in comparable cases; the commutation did not overturn her conviction. Manning was released from custody on May 17, 2017, having served approximately seven years of her sentence.

Later Activism and Legal Battles

After her release, Manning became a public commentator on surveillance, government secrecy, and transgender rights, and in 2018 ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat from Maryland. In March 2019, she was jailed for civil contempt after refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange; she was fined and held for roughly a year, including a brief second detention, before being released in March 2020 as the grand jury's term expired.

Significance

Manning's disclosures remain one of the largest unauthorized releases of classified government material in U.S. history and significantly shaped public and journalistic access to primary-source documentation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and U.S. diplomacy. Her prosecution set precedents for how the Espionage Act has been applied to digital-age leaks, and her personal story intersected national debates over whistleblower protection, prison conditions, and transgender rights.

Timeline

• 1987-12-17Born Bradley Edward Manning in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• 2007-09Enlists in the United States Army and trains as an intelligence analyst.
• 2009-10Deployed to Forward Operating Base Hammer near Baghdad, Iraq, with access to classified networks.
• 2010-01Begins transmitting classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.
• 2010-05-27Arrested by U.S. Army authorities after chat logs with Adrian Lamo are reported to the FBI.
• 2013-02-28Pleads guilty to 10 of 22 charges in a military court-martial.
• 2013-07-30Convicted of espionage, theft, and computer fraud; acquitted of 'aiding the enemy.'
• 2013-08-21Sentenced to 35 years in military prison.
• 2013-08-22Announces female gender identity and the name Chelsea Manning.
• 2017-01-17President Barack Obama commutes the remainder of Manning's sentence.
• 2017-05-17Released from custody at Fort Leavenworth.
• 2018Runs in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Maryland; loses to incumbent Ben Cardin.
• 2019-03-08Jailed for civil contempt after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.
• 2020-03-12Released from custody as the grand jury's term expires.