Chelsea Manning jailed for refusing to testify before secret grand jury in WikiLeaks case

Chelsea Manning, an anti-secrecy activist and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst whose release of classified information to WikiLeaksin 2010 sparked worldwide controversy over transparency in the military and whistleblower protections, was taken into custody at a federal court on Friday after a federal judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to answer questions in WikiLeaks case before a secret grand jury.

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(NPR) Judge Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court in Eastern Virginia ordered Manning to jail Friday “after a brief hearing in which Manning confirmed she has no intention of testifying,” the Associated Press reports.

Hilton said Manning must stay in custody until she either changes her mind about testifying or the grand jury finishes its work.

The order sending Manning to jail is under seal, but the judge issued the sanction against her in open court, the clerk’s office told NPR. After Manning refused to testify, Hilton remanded the former intelligence analyst to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Manning first reported to the Albert V. Bryan U.S. District Courthouse on Tuesday, hoping to cancel a subpoena to testify in what has widely been reported as an investigation into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Details of the case remain under seal, the clerk’s office said.