Chelsea Manning addresses confusion after attending pro-Trump party

Maya Oppenheim
Updated
Manning, who came out as transgender a day after her 2013 sentencing, was fiercely criticised for attending the event on social media and people accused her of building links with the far right: AFP/Getty
Manning, who came out as transgender a day after her 2013 sentencing, was fiercely criticised for attending the event on social media and people accused her of building links with the far right: AFP/Getty

Chelsea Manning, the transgender Army whistleblower who served seven years for leaking material to Wikileaks, has sparked controversy for attending a pro-Trump event.

The 30-year-old, who recently announced she was running for the US Senate in her home state of Maryland, was photographed at the far right party in New York which branded itself “A Night For Freedom”.

Manning has now insisted she attended the Manhattan event on Saturday to gather intelligence on the so-called “alt right” – a political movement widely accused of racism, anti-Semitism, and misogyny.

The 750-guest gala, which was thrown by firebrand conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich at a Hell’s Kitchen nightclub, was attended by men in Trump-style red ties and female dancers in American flag leotards.

Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst who spent seven years in prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, shocked both guests and social media users after she made an appearance at the event but left before the evening's speeches ended.

She later shared a photo of herself doing a thumbs-down gesture on Twitter announcing she “crashed the fascist/white supremacist hate brigade party. All selfies were denied.”