Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army soldier who was court-martialed in 2013 of violating the Espionage Act after disclosing nearly 750,000 classified or sensitive military documents to WikiLeaks, was one of dozens of young women who gathered on Friday inside a Manhattan courthouse to support Luigi Mangione, the young man accused of assassinating Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare in December.
The New York Times reported that in a hallway in the courthouse, “about 100 young women lined benches and sat on the floor,” including Manning who was seen sitting on a bench in a blue grey suit and a pink tie. The Times said when Mangione’s lawyers walked onto the floor, “the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.”
Indie reporter Talia Jane shared the photo of Manning in the courthouse below and captioned it “Is Chelsea Manning a Luigi stan?” Jane also reported that Manning said she’s there to exercise her “sixth amendment right to observe our court proceedings.”
The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial, including the right to a lawyer, an impartial jury, and a public trial.
Is Chelsea Manning a Luigi stan? pic.twitter.com/V9NcVpMsMp
— Amy
(@amy_likes_owls) February 22, 2025
Note: Manning wore a similar if not identical pinstriped suit in November 2023 for a dinner sponsored by Curb magazine, see below.
Mangione, who has been charged with first-degree murder and other charges, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Note: Manning served seven of her 35 years sentence at Fort Leavenworth before her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017. The day after her sentencing, Manning — who was born biologically male — announced that she was a female and had taken hormone therapy medication during her imprisonment.