Before leaving office in January, President Obama formally commuted most of Chelsea (neé Bradley) Manning’s 35-year-sentence for leaking classified information and documents to Wikileaks. The commutation was a divisive one, with many believing that her actions were treasonous, pure and simple, while others believed that she was serving a public good by sharing information with the public.
Her stay in prison was no less contentious as Manning went on hunger strikes, attempted suicide on at least two occasions, and underwent gender reassignment surgery during her incarceration.
Now, on May 17th, she’s slated to be released from prison to become a free woman. Her friends and family have launched a GoFundMe effort to ensure that she’s able to provide for herself once she’s freed.
The project’s page explains how the crowdsourced money will help Manning.
The goal of the page is to raise a lofty $100,000, which might cause many to wonder if this is truly being done to fund a year of living expenses or to financially express gratitude for her actions.
The GoFundMe page’s language suggests it’s both, with the above statement somewhat incongruous with this earlier statement:
Either way, in just two days, Welcome Home Chelsea has raised $48,500 towards its goal, so it’s looking likely the target will be met.
Just one day in, Chelsea expressed her gratitude for the outpouring of financial support via Twitter: