Reports: Chelsea Manning facing indefinite solitary confinement

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified information, has been threatened with indefinite solitary confinement for having an expired tube of toothpaste in her cell, as well as Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair issue, according to reports. 

Manning, who is serving her sentence at Fort Leavenworth’s brig for releasing millions of documents published on WikiLeaks, has reportedly been charged with four violations of custody rules that one of her lawyers say are “absurd and a form of harassment,” the Guardian reported Thursday. 

{mosads}Supporters of Manning say she is charged with showing “disrespect,” displaying “disorderly conduct” by sweeping food onto the floor during dinner, having “prohibited property” in her cell, and committing “medicine misuse” in reference to the tube of toothpaste, the Guardian said. 

Although Manning is allowed to have toothpaste, she is being penalized due to it being past its expiration date of April 9, 2015. 

The “prohibited property” charge relates to books and magazines that were found in her cell, including a memoir by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, a novel featuring trans women called A Safe Girl to Love, the LGBT publication Out Magazine, the Caitlyn Jenner issue of Vanity Fair and a copy of Cosmopolitan that featured an interview with Manning.

The Guardian — for whom Manning writes —said the U.S. Senate report on torture was also confiscated from her cell, despite not being considered a violation.  

A lawyer dealing with Manning’s appeal against sentence said the toothpaste charge was “utterly ridiculous.” 

Another attorney for Manning said charges could an attempt to silence her. 

“Given the materials that were confiscated, it is concerning that the military and Leavenworth might be taking action for the purpose of chilling Chelsea’s speech or even with the goal of silencing her altogether by placing her in solitary,” Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union told Buzzfeed News, who first broke the story.

“Hopefully with public scrutiny the prison will respond by dismissing these charges and ensuring that she is not unfairly targeted based on her activism, her identity, and her pending lawsuit,” Strangio said.

A disciplinary hearing for Manning is scheduled for August 18, which Manning’s supporters are calling for to be public. 

The intelligence analyst formerly known as Bradley Manning announced a day after being convicted in August 2013 that she was a woman.

— Updated 4:36 p.m.