A judge has ordered anti-secrecy advocate and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to jail following her refusal to answer in front of what’s described as a ‘secret’ grand jury.
Via ABC News:
In late January, Manning was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in a sealed case out of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia — the same district in which the government recently inadvertently revealed the existence of a sealed indictment against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
Manning will be held in custody until she’s ready to testify or the grand jury concludes their work according to the federal judge overseeing the case.
In a statement released earlier this week Manning mentioned that she was “prepared to face the consequences” for her refusal to answer the jury’s questions this week. Furthermore Manning stated that “A judge will consider the legal grounds for my refusal to answer questions in front of a grand jury,” adding “the court may find me in contempt, and order me to jail.”
Manning originally made headlines back in 2010 after releasing classified U.S. Army intel to Wikileaks. Some of that classified intel included 2007 footage of a U.S. helicopter in Baghdad firing on a group of civilians that killed two photographers for Reuters while wounding two children. Because of the leak, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison before she was pardoned by President Barack Obama prior to him leaving office in 2017.
In any sense, it seems like the U.S. government is trying to get a little payback towards Manning.