US Army
Chelsea Manning has joined Twitter from inside the walls of Kansas’s Fort Leavenworth prison, where she is currently serving a 35-year sentence for providing classified material to Wikileaks. Using the handle @xychelsea, the account has already amassed over 12,000 followers.
“She is committed to having a voice and engaging with the public and will try to be present on Twitter as much as she is able to connect with people on the outside,” ACLU attorney Chase Strangio told Politico.
This is my new twitter account =P
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 3, 2015
I’m hoping to stay connected w/ this account as much as poss., but would rather tweet about more meaningful things than not #lessismore
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 3, 2015
Tweeting from prison reqs a lot of effort and using a voice phone to dictate #90sproblems
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 3, 2015
It will be hard, but I don’t want this Twitter feed to be a one-way street/conversation
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 3, 2015
Starting with a shout out to the friends who have always stood by me @ggreenwald @amnesty @carwinb @savemanning and so many others #thankyou
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 3, 2015
In February, the military approved a request from Manning, who was born a male and formerly went by the name Bradley, to undergo hormone therapy in order to transition into a woman. That same month, the Guardian announced it had hired Manning to write from prison as a contributor on topics of gender and war.
