SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
August, 18 2015, 10:00am EDT
Contact:
Organizing effort: Evan Greer, Fight for the Future, 978-852-6457, press@fightforthefuture.org
Chelsea Manning’s attorneys: Christina DiPasquale, 202.716.1953, christina@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Chelsea Manning Supporters Deliver 100,000 Signatures to Army Officials Ahead of Tuesday Hearing on Solitary Confinement
Petition signers call for the Army to drop new charges, stop harassing WikiLeaks whistleblower Manning, who will face a disciplinary board this afternoon with no attorney present
WASHINGTON
This morning, advocacy groups supporting imprisoned WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning delivered a petition signed by more than 100,000 people to the Army Liason office in Congress.
See PHOTOS of the petition delivery and Manning supporters with large banner here: https://imgur.com/a/IKtWF
The petition at FreeChelsea.com was initiated by digital rights group Fight for the Future and supported by RootsAction.org, Demand Progress, and CodePink. It calls for the U.S. military to drop the new charges against Chelsea, and demands that her disciplinary hearing at 1:30pm CT today be open to the press and the public.
Chelsea faces possible indefinite solitary confinement, which is widely recognized as a form of torture, for four "charges," which include possession of LGBTQ reading material like the Caitlyn Jenner issue of Vanity Fair, and having a tube of expired toothpaste in her cell. The charges were first revealed at FreeChelsea.com, and Manning has since posted the original charging documents to her twitter account here and here. She has also posted the complete list of confiscated reading materials here.
On Saturday, Chelsea called supporters to alert them that military correctional staff denied her access to the prison legal library. This development comes just two days before she must present a defense (without her lawyers present) before the disciplinary board that could sentence her to potentially indefinite solitary confinement.
Chase Strangio, Chelsea's attorney at the ACLU, said: "During the five years she has been incarcerated Chelsea has had to endure horrific and, at times, plainly unconstitutional conditions of confinement. She now faces the threat of further dehumanization because she allegedly disrespected an officer when requesting an attorney and had in her possession various books and magazines that she used to educate herself and inform her public and political voice. I am heartened to see the outpouring of support for her in the face of these new threats to her safety and security. This support can break down the isolation of her incarceration and sends the message to the government that the public is watching and standing by her as she fights for her freedom and her voice."
Evan Greer, Campaign Director of Fight for the Future, said: "The U.S. government has a terrifying track record of using imprisonment and torture to silence free speech and dissenting voices. They've tortured Chelsea Manning before and now they're threatening to do it again, without any semblance of due process. Perhaps the military thought that now that Chelsea is behind bars she's been forgotten, but the tens of thousands who signed this petition are proving them wrong. Chelsea Manning is a hero and the whole world is watching the U.S. government's deplorable treatment of whistleblowers, transgender people, and prison inmates in general."
Nancy Hollander, one of Chelsea's criminal defense attorneys, said: "Chelsea is facing serious repercussions and punishment if these charges are upheld, yet the prison has denied her the right to legal counsel, even legal counsel at her own expense. Now we have learned the prison authorities have denied her the use of the prison library to prepare for her hearing. The whole system is rigged against her. She cannot have a lawyer to assist her; she cannot prepare her own defense; and the hearing will be secret. This harassment and abuse must end and we are grateful for the support from the public to demand justice for Chelsea Manning."
Sara Cederberg, Campaign Director of Demand Progress, said: "The charges against Chelsea Manning set a dangerous precedent for anyone who exercises their civil liberties to speak out against the abuses of our government. Long-term solitary confinement is a form of torture, and no one deserves this cruel and unusual psychological punishment. Today, and every day, thousands of Demand Progress members are standing with Chelsea, democracy and free speech."
David Swanson, Campaign Coordinator at RootsAction.org, said: ""Our petition demanding relief from this latest injustice for Manning has been the fastest-starting petition we've ever had, and it's full of eloquent comments from thousands of people who by all rights should have been past the point of outrage overload. Here is a straightforward case of a whistleblower of the sort that candidate Obama in 2008 said he would reward, and she's being punished not only unjustly but in violation of laws back at least to the Eighth Amendment. President Obama has long claimed to have ended torture. The U.S. military in effect is threatening to torture a young woman for having the wrong toothpaste and magazine."
Nancy Mancias, of the peace group CODEPINK, said: "The recent charges are inappropriate, extreme and ridiculous, Chelsea Manning has done a great service by leaking US war crimes in Iraq. Manning should have a right to legal counsel when requested, and threatening to her isolate from community is inhumane."
Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us.
(508) 368-3026LATEST NEWS
'Real Justice' for Renee Good Begins With Impeaching Noem, Omar Says as Protests Continue
"ICE's reckless actions have taken a mother from three children, a partner from a wife, and inflicted unfathomable pain on our community."
Jan 14, 2026
As protests against the Trump administration's immigration operations continued in Minnesota on Wednesday, a week after a federal officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar argued that justice for the Minneapolis woman requires impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"Today we are honoring the life and memory of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, a writer, and a poet," Omar—whose congressional district includes Minneapolis—said outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, beside other lawmakers.
Good "had just dropped... her 6-year-old son off at school and was serving as a legal observer when she was murdered by an ICE agent in South Minneapolis," Omar said, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross.
"ICE's reckless actions have taken a mother from three children, a partner from a wife, and inflicted unfathomable pain on our community. My deepest condolences go out to Renee's family, friends, and anyone who loved her," the congresswoman continued. "We will not stop fighting until we achieve real justice and accountability."
According to Omar: "That must begin with impeaching Kristi Noem and ensuring no federal agent can act as a judge, jury, and executioner on our streets. It must also include [a] full and transparent investigation, and legal action against ICE."
Omar is among dozens of Democrats in the House of Representatives backing articles of impeachment against Noem for alleged obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing, introduced on Wednesday by Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Ill.).
That introduction and Omar's remarks at the Capitol came as protests continued in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul—which, along with Minnesota, are suing the US Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and other agencies and leaders, including Noem, to end the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state.
In that case, US Judge Kate Menendez, appointed to the District of Minnesota by former President Joe Biden, declined to issue a temporary restraining order on Wednesday morning. Instead, she is seeking more information from all parties by late next week.
"I think the issues are really important and I don't want to suggest by not acting immediately one way or the other that I think they are unimportant," Menendez said, according to CBS News. "To the contrary, I understand this is important to everybody."
Meanwhile, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who filed the case, joined Saint Paul students for a walkout against ICE.
The Intercept reported Wednesday that "federal agents have repeatedly invoked Good's death to threaten the lives of observers and demonstrators in Minnesota," including in an encounter with local resident Phil Maddox, who filmed a masked man with an ICE officer badge screaming into his vehicle, "Stop fucking following us."
As the outlet detailed:
Maddox pans his phone camera to reveal another agent standing by the passenger-side door with a handgun drawn. Stomping back past the car, the first agent continues his tirade, telling Maddox that he won't "like the outcome" if he follows the agents.
"You did not learn from what just happened?" the ICE agent asks. "Go home to your kids." Maddox said he immediately interpreted the question as a threat.
"They're saying, 'Get in our way and we'll shoot you,'" Maddox said. "'We have immunity, we can do what we want, and you should fear us.'"
On Monday, Pioneer Press, shared another account of an agent referring to Good's death: "Brandon Siguenza told media and detailed in a Facebook post how he and a friend, Patty O'Keefe, were taken into custody near 42nd and 16th streets in South Minneapolis on Sunday morning. He said agents sprayed pepper spray into their vehicle's vents, broke their windows and arrested them both on charges of obstruction."
According to the outlet, which covers the Twin Cities:
O'Keefe told KARE-TV that during the drive to the detention facility at the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, one agent told her, "You guys got to stop obstructing us, that's why that lesbian (expletive) is dead."
O'Keefe said the comment was "shocking."
As videos emerge of federal agents telling observers to stop recording them, the National Coalition Against Censorship on Tuesday reminded Americans that "the First Amendment unequivocally protects the right to observe, monitor, and take pictures and video of government officials conducting their duties in public."
Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Payne also reminded residents of their rights on Wednesday while sharing his own experience being "assaulted by ICE" with reporters. Payne said that an agent pushed him from behind on Monday, while he observed another agent pointing a taser at people on the street.
"You have the right to observe these operations," Payne stressed. "You have the right to keep your door shut. You have a right to demand a judicial warrant, and if they do not have a judicial warrant, you do not have to open your door."
In recent days, protesters, observers, and targeted Minnesotans have shared footage of federal officials demanding to see proof of citizenship, even though there is no law requiring citizens to carry that and immigration agents are barred from conducting indiscriminate searches.
Pioneer Press reported that "during questioning by investigators, Siguenza said he was told 'they could offer undocumented family members of mine legal protection if I have any (I don't), or money, in exchange for giving them the names of protest organizers, or undocumented persons. I was shocked, and told them no.'"
In a separate report, the outlet shared a story from Elizabeth Lugert-Thom, a Saint Paul resident who said that agents, who didn't identify themselves, knocked on her door and asked if she knew where Hmong and other Asian families lived nearby. She also told them she didn't know, and wrote on Facebook, "I was a bit shaken and a bit shocked of what I was asked to do."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'A Travesty': Trump Suspends Processing of Immigrant Visas From 75 Nations
"Trump is once again using lies, racism, and xenophobia to block entire groups of people from coming and contributing to this country," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
Jan 14, 2026
The US State Department announced one of the Trump administration's most far-reaching efforts to restrict immigration to the country on Wednesday, saying on social media that it will pause processing of all immigrant visas from 75 countries and claiming people from those nations often receive public benefits after arriving in the US.
"The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people," reads the statement.
The countries represent more than one-third of the 193 countries on the planet and include Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Laos, Somalia, and Sudan.
The announcement comes as the administration is seeking to expand the definition of what constitutes a "public charge"—people who are likely to utilize public benefits.
President Donald Trump and his top advisers have long been fixated on the claim that immigrants and refugees overuse social services, and the White House has particularly been focused on the use of public programs by Somali immigrants following a fraud scandal in Minnesota.
Last year, the libertarian Cato Institute published a study showing that despite Trump's claims, native-born Americans consume more public benefits than immigrants on average per capita.
Immigrants used 21% fewer welfare and public benefits than Americans born in the US, the study found.
"Trump is once again using lies, racism, and xenophobia to block entire groups of people from coming and contributing to this country," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
Late last year, the administration proposed a rule that would direct immigration officers to consider whether an immigrant would use programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and free and reduced-cost school lunches when deciding whether to grant them entry to the US.
A number of observers noted Wednesday that the State Department announced the visa processing freeze months before the US is set to host the World Cup—and 15 of the 42 teams that have already qualified for the soccer tournament are reportedly from countries impacted by the new policy.
A State Department official told Politico that the pause is not expected to directly affect tourist visa processing, but the outlet reported that "individuals could still face difficulties if their countries are subject to other Trump travel bans and restrictions."
The US embassies in Haiti and Iran both posted warnings about visa restrictions on their websites.
"The US should lose hosting rights," said Etan Nechin of Haaretz. "This is a travesty."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Part of a Larger War': Whistleblower Exposes ICE Effort to Spy on Immigrants—and Americans
"The ICE crackdown isn’t just about immigration; it’s about gathering intelligence... on antifa, on the radical left... and anyone else they consider terrorists," said journalist Ken Klippenstein.
Jan 14, 2026
An "outraged" Border Patrol official has leaked files exposing numerous secret Trump administration efforts to spy on both migrants and American citizens, and to falsely portray every single person who enters the United States without authorization as a terrorist or drug trafficker, a US investigative journalist revealed Wednesday.
The disaffected Border Patrol official gave journalist Ken Klippenstein documents showing "the dizzying scope" of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. These range from previously undisclosed code names of secret ICE missions to an explanation that a key objective of a nationwide campaign called Operation Abracadabra is "tying every individual who crosses the border illegally to a foreign terrorist organization [or a] transnational criminal organization."
A document on another operation—code-named Benchwarmer—reveals that, in an effort aimeda at "collecting information not normally gained" during standard interrogations, “plainclothes agents have been embedded in transport vans, sally ports, processing areas, and detention cells to gather important tactical intelligence and or information."
🚨Border Patrol whistleblower outraged by ICE's conduct exposes over a dozen secret ICE programs in documents leaked to me:www.kenklippenstein.com/p/21-secret-...
[image or embed]
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) January 14, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Klippenstein wrote that opposition to ICE's actions "has spread throughout the Department of Homeland Security" in the wake of last week's killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. Articles of impeachment filed Wednesday by Democratic members of Congress against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem note how she falsely accused Good of "domestic terrorism."
The discontent with ICE "is also affecting the Justice Department," said Klippenstein, who noted the resignation of half a dozen federal prosecutors "over pressure to investigate Renee Good’s widow," and that FBI officials are "increasingly split" over the White House's effort to link Good with extremists.
"The media is telling a certain story about ICE, giving the blow by blow on the most public horrors but never quite seeing the bigger picture that it’s part of a larger war," Klippenstein asserted. "As a military intelligence source told me, the ICE crackdown isn’t just about immigration; it’s about gathering intelligence in support of [President Donald] Trump’s war on cartels—as well as on antifa, on the radical left, those who are 'anti-American,' and anyone else they consider terrorists."
ICE has also come under fire during Trump's second administration for its surveillance of people who criticize the agency on social media, using facial recognition technology to identify US citizens without their consent, and other policies and practices.
Time's Philip Wang reported Wednesday on dissent among ICE's ranks over Good's killing and the Trump administration's response, which includes legally dubious claims of "absolute immunity" for Ross.
“I’m embarrassed,” one former ICE agent of over 25 years told Wang. “The majority of my colleagues feel the same way. It’s an insult to us... to see what they’re doing now.”
Insiders have pointed to the Trump administration's rush to hire and rapidly deploy more than 10,000 new ICE agents to carry out the president's plan for the "largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrants” in US history as a major cause for concern. Critics say that ICE's ramped-up recruitment—which includes $50,000 signing bonuses and the use of racist messaging to lure applicants—is producing inadequately trained ICE officers who, confident of their impunity, are terrorizing communities.
"When thousands of over-militarized immigration agents descend on American communities akin to an invading military force, it seeks to terrorize us, actively harms public safety, and raises the likelihood of violence," Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the advocacy group America's Voice, said in a statement Wednesday.
"Meanwhile, the mass deportation agenda is diverting money, manpower, investigative attention, and resources away from real threats—like child exploitation, drug trafficking investigations, and... disaster preparedness funding—all for the purpose of becoming foot soldiers in Stephen Miller's anti-immigrant crusade," Cárdenas added, referring to the white nationalist White House deputy chief of staff.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular