Defying Coercion to Testify Against WikiLeaks / Assange, Chelsea Manning Goes to Jail and Shows Us How to Stand for Principles

Chelsea Manning is paying the price of being a principled individual in a time of deceit and coercion where most succumb to the tyranny of the state. Manning was subpoenaed and "commanded" to appear before a grand jury witch-hunt against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, and she did so on Wednesday.

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The dirty unlawful system wanted to try to link WikiLeaks/Assange to the 2010 leaks that Manning provided to WikiLeaks. The most famous leak being the "film showing US Apache pilots blowing away wounded Reuters staffer and a van of Samaritans (two adults and two children)":

Collateral Murder - Wikileaks - Iraq

Manning was offered immunity to testify against WikiLeaks or Assange. But, she stood her ground, bravely defying the coercion of the secret grand jury. Others who were "commanded" to testify against WikiLeaks and Assange have left the U.S. for Europe instead. She knew this defiance would have consequences, but she did it anyways, answering with:

"I object to the question and refuse to answer on the grounds that the question is in violation of my First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment, and other statutory rights."

Manning spoke about the ordeal on Thursday, knowing she may get thrown in jail:

"On Friday I will return to federal court in Alexandria, Virginia for a closed contempt hearing," she said in a statement. A judge will consider the legal grounds for my refusal to answer questions in front of a grand jury. The court may find me in contempt, and order me to jail."

"Yesterday, I appeared before a secret grand jury after being given immunity for my testimony. All of the substantive questions pertained to my disclosures of information to the public in 2010—answers I provided in extensive testimony, during my court-martial in 2013. I responded to each question with the following statement: 'I object to the question and refuse to answer on the grounds that the question is in violation of my First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment, and other statutory rights.'"

"In solidarity with many activists facing the odds, I will stand by my principles. I will exhaust every legal remedy available. My legal team continues to challenge the secrecy of these proceedings, and I am prepared to face the consequences of my refusal."

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Manning's suspicions of being re-jailed were accurate as we found out yesterday. Her immunity was only for testifying. And since she refused to bow to the tyrannical witch-hunt, they are putting her back in jail after being released/pardoned in 2017 by Obama after serving 7 years of a 35 year military prison sentence.

She was previously put in jail for leaking documents to WikiLeaks that exposed the U.S.' war crimes. That's a real hero's duty, to expose wrong-doings. But the tyrants don't like being exposed, and will punish you for doing so. WikiLeaks serves as an outlet for whisteleblowers to publicize their documents, and tyrants in the U.S. government apparatus are going after them after 9 years.

Manning spoke about the additional punishment being imposed for refusing to "play ball" with the witch-hunt:

""Imprisoning me for my refusal to answer questions only subjects me to additional punishment for my repeatedly-stated ethical objections to the grand jury system."

Her attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, said she will appeal the jailing by Judge Claude M. Hilton. Manning could be held for the duration of the grand jury, but not longer than 18 months:

"As everybody knows, Chelsea has tremendous courage. Our primary concern at this point is her health while she is confined and we will be paying close attention."

Prosecutor Tracy Doherty-McCormick defended the courts actions:

'... the government does not want to confine Ms. Manning... It has always been our intent and hope for her to testify and comply with the valid court order and valid grand jury investigation. Ms. Manning could change her mind right now and do so. It is her choice."

Manning is the only one to blame here folks. The government, judge and prosecutors are innocent. They didn't put Manning in jail, Manning put herself in jail. LOL, what a joke! Grand juries are a tool of oppression used to silence dissent, as mentioned by @fightfortheftr on Twitter:

"Chelsea Manning has suffered enough. Grand Juries are frequently used as a tool for silencing dissent. This must stop. #LeaveChelseaAlone"

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Glenn Greenwald, who has often spoken in defense of WIkiLeaks and Julian Assange, commented on the fiasco as well:

"One of the bravest & most principled people continues to be @xychelsea. And it remains remarkable that the Trump DOJ is clearly trying to prosecute WL & Assange for publishing pre-2016 documents - what even the anti-press Obama DOJ said would threaten press freedom - & few care"

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and:

"This is disgusting, and all due to the efforts of the DOJ to criminalize the publication of classified information in order to prosecute WikiLeaks and Assange: something all press freedom groups, major newspapers & even the Obama DOJ said would be a major threat to press freedom:"

"I continue to find it astounding that media stars have spent 2 years prancing around proclaiming Trump poses a grave threat to press freedom because he tweets insults at Chuck Todd, while they ignore by far the greatest press freedom threat: their attempt to prosecute WikiLeaks."

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As did WikiLeaks' editor Kristinn Hrafnsson speak on the jailing of Chelsea Manning:

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Famous whistleblower from the Pentagon Papers, @DanielEllsberg, also has something to say about fellow "whistleblower Chelsea Manning being sent back to jail for refusing to be coerced into secretly testifying against Julian Assange":

"“Chelsea Manning is again acting heroically in the name of press freedom, and it’s a travesty that she has been sent back to jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury. An investigation into WikiLeaks for publishing is a grave threat to all journalists’ rights, and Chelsea is doing us all a service for fighting it. She has already been tortured, spent years in jail, and has suffered more than enough. She should be released immediately.”"

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Investigative journalist Ben Swann also broke down the purpose of the arrest and reason for coercing Manning to speak against WikiLeaks/Assange, in an interview on RT yesterday.

"I think it is less of a message in this case, and more about finally getting Assange. The goal is to go a get him. The U.S. government, the neo-cons have wanted Assange Since 2010, but they didn't have the full support of the neo-liberals. But now they have that because of the 2016 campaign, and the hacking of Podesta's emails, and the release of Hillary's emails, and the DNC emails. And because of those emails being out, now the neo-liberals hate WikiLeaks and Assange, and they all want to get him now."

"Prosecutors are looking at him [Assange] saying, 'we have to find as many ways as we possibly can to show that Assange is not a journalist, and this was not free media or free speech, that he was acting as an agent of a foreign country and committed espionage against the United States.'"

Breaking: Chelsea Manning Jailed For Refusing To Testify Before Secret Grand Jury

If you want to help Chelsea Manning fight the refusal to comply with the coercive secret grand jury witch-hunt: there is a legal fund. The page explains what the grand jury is and why anyone should resist them:

What are grand juries?

Grand juries are used to establish “probable cause” that a felony offense has been committed. Prosecutors run the proceedings behind closed doors, without a judge or defense attorney present. Basically, the whole process is rigged to favor indictment of the individual accused of a crime. They have also been used historically to oppress and frighten targeted groups, in particular, people perceived as dissidents and activists.

Why Resist a grand jury?

Due to their secretive nature and limitless subpoena power, the government has utilized grand jury processes as tools for garnering information about movements by questioning witnesses behind closed doors. Since testimony before grand juries is secret, grand juries can create fear by suggesting that some members of a political community may be secretly cooperating with the government. In this way, grand juries can seed suspicion and fear in activist communities.

Imagine a world where most people didn't simply comply with government dictates, but stood for principles of truth? Thing would look much different. For one, none of this witch-hunt would be supported. Anyone who tried, would have to deal with a majority of the population that wouldn't stand for it. But we're mostly divided from principles of truth, and thus keep getting manipulated and coerced into following the tyranny of the state.

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References:

• Chelsea Manning jailed after refusing to testify about WikiLeaks
• Chelsea Manning Faces Contempt Hearing After Refusal to Answer Grand Jury Questions

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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

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