Chelsea Manning posted the first image of herself on Thursday since her release from military prison.
“Okay, so here I am everyone!!” Manning wrote on Instagram.
Manning was convicted in 2013 on 20 charges, including violating the Espionage Act, for leaking a massive trove of US documents and video to WikiLeaks. She was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, thereby avoiding a life sentence, but received 35 years in military prison.
The day after her sentencing, Manning came out as transgender. Manning began taking hormones in prison, becoming the first person to do so in military prison. She remained in an all-male Army prison until her release Wednesday.
Former President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence in January as one of his final acts in office.
Shortly after he took office, President Donald Trump called Manning an “ungrateful traitor.”
By the time of her release, Manning had spent seven years behind bars.
