Already have an account?
Get back to the

Chelsea Manning Has Been Released From Prison, Will Return to Active Duty in U.S. Army

U.S. Army private first class soldier Chelsea Manning was released from prison on Wednesday, May 17, after seven years behind bars for leaking military intelligence reports and documents to WikiLeaks in 2010.

Related: Stars at Court

Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Jennifer Johnson confirmed to ABC News that Manning left the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, at 2 a.m. central time.

Manning, 29, issued a statement to ABC News, saying, “I appreciate the wonderful support that I have received from so many people across the world over these past years. As I rebuild my life, I remind myself not to relive the past. The past will always affect me and I will keep that in mind while remember that how it played out is only my starting point, not my final destination.”

Related: Celebrity Mugshots

In 2010, Manning, who went by the name Bradley at the time, released approximately 750,000 documents to WikiLeaks, some of which were classified. In 2013, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking information relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soon after she began her sentence, Manning came out as transgender, changed her name to Chelsea and announced that she was starting hormone therapy. She attempted suicide twice during her time in prison.

Related: Stars' Political Affiliations

Earlier this year, former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence three days before he left office in January. “It was my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime,” Obama said in a January press conference, “that the sentence that she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received and that she had served a significant amount of time, that it made sense to commute — and not pardon — her sentence.”

Upon Manning’s release, she will remain an active-duty soldier eligible for health care and other benefits, but she will not get paid. She also still has an ongoing appeal on her conviction. 

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!