More than 60,000 people call for judge to release Chelsea Manning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, February 20, 2020
Contact: Evan Greer, 978-852-6457, press@fightforthefuture.org  

More than 60,000 people have signed a new petition calling on Federal Judge Anthony Trenga to release Chelsea Manning.

Chelsea Manning has been incarcerated for more than 11 months for her principled refusal to give testimony before a grand jury convened to investigate and prosecute journalists. She is being held in jail and fined $1,000 per day for up to 18 months or until she agrees to cooperate.

Chelsea has not been charged with any crime, but is being held under “coercive confinement.” The UN Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, considers this to be a violation of international law and has called upon the U.S. Government to release her immediately.

Chelsea has a conscientious objection to all Grand Jury proceedings, due to their secrecy and history of prosecutorial abuse, including a long history of targeting and harassing activist communities.

The petition was organized by Fight For the Future and is backed by several other organizations including Defending Rights & Dissent (DRAD), RootsAction.org, Media Alliance, Daily Kos, Demand Progress and Freedom of the Press Foundation. Prominent musicians including Michael Stipe of REM and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth have helped amplify the effort, as has Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

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