Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army analyst who served 7 years in prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, was arrested Friday and ordered jailed without bond.
Manning, a transvestite who was born Bradley, was ordered to jail by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton after a brief hearing in which Manning refused to testify before a grand jury investigating Julian Assange’s anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
Manning, 31, reportedly objected to the secrecy of the grand jury process.
“These secret proceedings tend to favor the government,” Manning told reporters before the hearing, according to The Washington Post. “I’m always willing to explain things publicly.”
Manning’s lawyers asked the judge to release Manning to home confinement due to the complications surrounding Manning’s treatment for gender dysphoria and other mental problems.
Manning was arrested in May 2010 and court-martialed for leaking sensitive classified information to WikiLeaks while assigned to an Army unit in Iraq as an intelligence analyst.
Manning was charged with 22 offenses, including aiding the enemy – a charge which could have resulted in a death sentence.
Manning was sentenced to serve 35 years in the maximum-security U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.
While in prison, Manning attempted suicide and went on a five-day hunger strike. After a favorable court order, Manning began taking female hormones in prison.
On January 17, prior to leaving office, former President Obama commuted Manning’s sentence to time served after nearly seven years of confinement.
Manning lost a challenge to incumbent Senator Ben Cardin, of Maryland, for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate in 2018.
