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'Okay, so here I am everyone!' Chelsea Manning posts first photo after release from prison

She was released early on Wednesday.
She was released early on Wednesday. She was released early on Wednesday.

Chelsea Manning has posted a new photo of herself, after being freed from a Kansas military prison and a 35-year sentence for leaking classified materials.

The transgender soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning took to Twitter and Instagram, posting a portrait photograph of her with short-cropped hair, bright red lipstick and a dark outfit.

The 29-year-old Oklahoma native included the caption, “Okay, so here I am everyone!!”

Manning was released early Wednesday from confinement at Kansas’ Fort Leavenworth, after having served seven years behind bars for giving classified materials to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.Manning and her attorneys have refused to divulge her post-prison whereabouts or immediate plans.In an earlier post, she wrote “First steps of freedom!!” alongside a photograph of her feet.

She also took to social media to share a photo of her first pizza and toasted to a “new beginning”.

Hours after being released, Manning said: “I’m figuring things out right now – which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me.“I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past.”