After Chelsea Manning Released From Jail, Supporters Fundraise to Pay Off Her $256,000 in Legal Fines by Jessica Corbett!
(2020-03-13 at 16:31:11 )

After Chelsea Manning Released From Jail, Supporters Fundraise to Pay Off Her $256,000 in Legal Fines by Jessica Corbett!

"No one should get tortured and fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, without even getting charged with a crime, for standing up for their rights."

Thousands of people have contributed to a GoFundMe campaign launched by a friend of United States Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who was released from jail Thursday and faces over a quarter million dollars in legal fines for her refusal to testify to a grand jury about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Federal Judge Anthony Trenga ordered Ms Mannings immediate release less than 24 hours after she was hospitalized for attempting suicide. While welcoming that decision, some of Ms Mannings supporters pointed out that Judge Trenga also ordered Ms Manning to pay the $256,000 in fines she has accrued.

Ms Mannings friend Kelly Wright, who was the communications director for the whistleblowers 2018 United States Senate bid, set up the fundraiser with the aim of fully covering the court-imposed fines. As of press time, more than 2,300 donors had collectively given over $93,400 to the effort.

And just like that we are 20% of the way toward our goal of WIPING OUT the fines accrued by Chelsea Manning during her year incarcerated for grand jury resistance. Thank you all so much for donating and sharing! Onward and upward:-Kelly Wright

Supporters of Ms Manning raised awareness about the fundraiser on Twitter, decrying both the fines and Ms Mannings yearlong detention, which United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer denounced last year as "an open-ended, progressively severe coercive measure amounting to torture."

This is the official crowd funding link for Chelsea Mannings $256,000 fines. Please donate! No one should get tortured and fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, without even getting charged with a crime, for standing up for their rights.-Micah Lee March 13, 2020

Chelsea Manning has been released, but she was fined $1,000 for each day she refused to testify.

Those fines now total approximately $256,000, and she has been ordered to pay them.

Help her out:-The Tor Project March 13, 2020

IMPORTANT: Chelsea Manning is being released from jail, but she has to pay more than a quarter million dollars in fines.

THIS IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL FUNDRAISER TO HELP HER PAY THOSE FINES:

Please retweet, donate, and spread the word.-Evan Greer March 13, 2020

do good in the world, consider throwing chelsea some money-Alex Press March 13, 2020

The fundraiser has grown in popularity since Thursday as critics continued to sound off about the United States governments treatment of Ms Manning, who was jailed at the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia for most of the past year for not testifying against Mr. Julian Assange, who is imprisoned in London while he fights the United States governments attempt to extradite him.

Ms Mannings detention in Virginia since March 2019 came after she was released from prison in May 2017 because outgoing President Barack Obama had commuted all but four months of the 35-year sentence she was serving for leaking classified materials and government records to WikiLeaks.

The government cast Ms Manning into a dungeon for resisting a scheme to make publishers of news subject to the Espionage Act. They offered to let her out in exchange for collaboration, but she chose her principles instead.

That is moral strength.-Edward Snowden March 13, 2020

Chelsea Manning has done more for the world in her 32 years than can be expected of any person in a lifetime, & has sacrificed so much & paid such a huge price for her public service. She was released from prison yesterday but faces huge fines & challenges to live. Please donate:-Glenn Greenwald March 13, 2020

Along with the GoFundMe campaign launched by Ms Wright, there is an ongoing fundraiser on the Action Network to cover Ms Mannings "legal fees, and legal costs such as court transcripts and travel, and commissary."-Chelsea Manning March 13, 2020

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and the Crisis Text Line is 741741. Both offer 24-7, free, and confidential support.

Reprinted here from "Common Dreams" has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported.