On Thursday, just one day after being released from military prison, a portrait was posted on Chelsea Manning’s newly-created Instagram account flaunting a new makeover.
Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst who leaked roughly 70,000 classified and unclassified documents to Wikileaks, was released from military prison on Wednesday after serving seven years of a 35 year sentence. Former President Obama granted Manning clemency just days before he left office.
Manning, who entered an all-male military prison as “Bradley,” announced he was transgender immediately after sentencing in 2013.
On the morning of the release, Manning posted an image of feet in Converse sneakers to show off the “first steps of freedom” to the Internet.
Hours later, a new post showed Manning was “already enjoying” the first “hot greasy pizza” and posted an image of a single slice topped with one and a half pieces of pepperoni sitting on a white place.
On the night of the release, Manning posted a picture of four hands at a dinner table holding glasses that appear to be filled with champagne, likely from the bottle of Don Perignon that can be seen sitting on the table.
Thursday afternoon, Chelsea posted a self portrait for the first time since being released from prison.
Manning is donned in a lowcut top and sporting lipstick and eye makeup. Manning’s hair, while short, is styled in more of a pixie-cut fashion than the public had previously seen.
A week before the release, Manning posted issued a statement.
“For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea,” Manning said. “I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world. Freedom used to be something that I dreamed of but never allowed myself to fully imagine. Now, freedom is something that I will again experience with friends and loved ones after nearly seven years of bars and cement, of periods of solitary confinement, and of my health care and autonomy restricted, including through routinely forced haircuts. I am forever grateful to the people who kept me alive, President Obama, my legal team and countless supporters.”
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