Chelsea Manning Says She's Moving To Maryland
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WJZ/AP) — Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning says she's moving to Maryland after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.
Manning, who is transgender and was known as Bradley Manning before she transitioned in prison, was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas Wednesday morning.
She was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations. Former President Barack Obama granted her clemency in January before he left office.
Afterwards, she tweeted that she planned to move to Maryland, where she has an aunt. Manning originally comes from Crescent, Oklahoma.
Decision: I plan on moving back to Maryland this summer. (Takoma Park? Bethesda?) Can't wait to go home =D
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) January 24, 2017
Manning said in a statement after her release Wednesday that "whatever is ahead ... is far more important than the past," and that she's "figuring things out right now." The statement was emailed just hours after her release from a military prison in Kansas.
Minutes later, she tweeted a photo of her feet in tennis shoes, with the caption: "First steps of freedom!!"
First steps of freedom!! ????https://t.co/kPPWV5epwa#ChelseaIsFree pic.twitter.com/0R5pXqA1VN
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 17, 2017
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