(NEW YORK) — There was a shooting Thursday morning at a high school in Iowa, a police official told ABC News.
The shooting took place at Perry High School, according to a Perry, Iowa, police administrator.
Perry is located in the suburbs northwest of Des Moines.
Further details were not yet available.
Story developing…
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(NEW YORK) — The first batch of what is expected to be hundreds of sealed court filings pertaining to the late sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein was made public Wednesday, and in the documents, it included arguments by attorneys for Virginia Giuffre — an alleged victim of Epstein — who sought to depose former President Bill Clinton as part of her defamation lawsuit against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
In the newly unsealed material, Giuffre’s lawyers wrote that Clinton was “a key person who can provide information about his close relationship with Defendant and Mr. Epstein.”
The document, dated June 14, 2016, marked the first time Giuffre’s attorneys indicated their desire to depose Clinton for his testimony, as ABC News previously reported. Giuffre’s lawyers had begun informal talks with Clinton’s attorneys five days earlier, on June 9, 2016, ABC News previously reported.
The now-unredacted document revealed specifically why Giuffre’s lawyers sought Clinton’s testimony.
“In a 2011 interview, Ms. Giuffre mentioned former President Bill Clinton’s close personal relationship with Defendant and Jeffrey Epstein. While Ms. Giuffre made no allegations of illegal actions by Bill Clinton, Ms. [Ghislaine] Maxwell in her deposition raised Ms. Giuffre’s comments about President Clinton as one of the ‘obvious lies’ to which she was referring in her public statement that formed the basis of this suit. Apart from the Defendant and Mr. Epstein, former President Clinton is a key person who can provide information about his close relationship with Defendant and Mr. Epstein and disapprove Ms. Maxwell’s claims,” the document said.
In response, Maxwell’s attorneys pointed out that “Each and every part of Plaintiff’s claims regarding President Clinton has conclusively been proven false,” according to another document unsealed Wednesday.
Giuffre had claimed to a reporter in 2011 that she had seen Clinton on Epstein’s private Caribbean island shortly after his presidency ended, had dinner with him and claimed to have witnessed Maxwell flying Clinton to the island in a “big, black helicopter.” Giuffre later disavowed witnessing the helicopter flight.
“With the record thus, Plaintiff’s claims about Clinton’s presence on the Island and the fully concocted story about the dinner party that occurred thereon totally debunked … the relevance of any testimony he might add is non-existent,” the newly-released document said.
Giuffre’s proposal to depose Clinton was denied by a federal judge in a still-redacted order, something ABC News previously reported.
Giuffre made no allegations of wrongdoing against Clinton. After Epstein’s arrest in 2019, Clinton’s spokesman denied that Clinton knew about Epstein’s crimes, denied Clinton was ever on Epstein’s private island and said the former president had not communicated with Epstein in more than a decade.
Wednesday’s unsealed documents are part of a long-settled defamation lawsuit Giuffre filed against Maxwell. Giuffre claimed she was a teen sex slave for Epstein and directed by him and Maxwell to have sex with powerful men.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ruled last month there was no legal justification for continuing to conceal more than 150 names of “John and Jane Does” mentioned in the records. Preska had ordered the unsealing to begin after Jan. 1.
Additional associates of Epstein’s, including Prince Andrew, are named in the documents.
Reacting to the release of the documents, Managing Partner of Boies Schiller Flexner Sigrid McCawley, counsel for Giuffre, said the public deserves to know more about what happened with Epstein.
“The public has wondered and many have rightly demanded to know how Epstein operated his vast, global sex trafficking enterprise and got away with it for decades. Questions of who enabled and facilitated him and who participated in an operation that resulted in unspeakable harm and devastation to the lives of countless girls and young women quickly surfaced,” the statement read. “Some of those questions have been answered; many have not. Some justice for the survivors has, indeed, been achieved; not nearly enough as hoped for and deserved. The public interest must still be served in learning more about the scale and scope of Epstein’s racket to further the important goal of shutting down sex trafficking wherever it exists and holding more to account. The unsealing of these documents gets us closer to that goal.”
Late Wednesday night, Maxwell’s attorneys, Arthur L. Aidala and Diana Fabi Samson, also released a statement reading: “Ghislaine Maxwell took no position on the court’s recent decision to unseal documents in Giuffre v Maxwell as these disclosures have no bearing on her or her pending appeal.”
“Ghislaine’s focus is on the upcoming appellate argument asking for her entire case to dismissed,” their statement continued. “She is confident that she will obtain justice in the second circuit court of appeals. She has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence.”
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(LOS ANGELES) — Late night host Jimmy Kimmel lashed out at Aaron Rodgers on social media on Tuesday night, accusing the NFL quarterback of putting his family at risk and threatening to take him to court.
The comments on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, were just the latest in a simmering disagreement between the two celebrities that appears close to boiling over.
Why did Jimmy Kimmel blast Rodgers on social media?
Kimmel and Rodgers’ disagreement was taken to the next level on Tuesday when Kimmel, whose show airs on ABC, angrily responded to comments made earlier in the day by the quarterback on “The Pat McAfee Show,” which airs on ESPN.
McAfee’s co-host A.J. Hawk brought up the list of names tied to convicted sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein that is expected to be released this week.
The documents stem from a 2015 civil defamation lawsuit centered on allegations that Epstein’s one-time paramour, Ghislaine Maxwell, facilitated the sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre, an alleged trafficking victim. Giuffre also accused Epstein and Maxwell of directing her to have sex with Prince Andrew and several other prominent men. Prince Andrew denied the allegations and claimed he could not recall ever meeting Giuffre. He later settled a different lawsuit she filed against him.
In response to Hawk mentioning the documents’ expected release, Rodgers quipped, “There’s a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are really hoping that doesn’t come out.” Rodgers, who was conducting the video interview from his wine room, followed up, saying he would be “popping some sort of bottle” when the list is released.
Kimmel responded to Rodgers’ comments Tuesday night on social media, writing, “for the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any ‘list’ other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality. Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
No connection known between Kimmel and Epstein
There has never been any indication that Kimmel’s name would appear in the Epstein documents.
Most of the prominent names that appear in the documents are already associated in some way with Epstein; for a variety of reasons, including allegations of wrongdoing, for having worked for Epstein, flown on his planes, or visited his homes, ABC News previously reported. Some were mentioned during Maxwell’s criminal trial in 2021. In some instances, the only appearances of the names are in potential witness lists or in proposed terms for searches of electronic records.
It’s unclear exactly why Rodgers would mention Kimmel’s name being on the list, but Kimmel did mock Rodgers’ previous comments on the Epstein list on his show last February.
In a February episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” where Rodgers appears as a weekly guest, Rodgers brought up, in a discussion about the Chinese spy balloon and UFOs, “There’s a lot of other things going on in the world. Did you hear about the Epstein client list about to be released? There are some files that have some names on it that might be getting released pretty soon.”
Kimmel mocked Rodgers’ comments on his late night show at the time, calling him a “tin-foil hatter” and saying, “It might be time to revisit that concussion protocol, Aaron.”
McAfee alluded to that moment Tuesday when Rodgers mentioned Kimmel, saying, “Jimmy mocked him for it, and Aaron has not forgotten about it.”
Have Kimmel and Rodgers bickered about anything else?
In addition to the criticism Kimmel levied at Rodgers last February, he has commented on the New York Jets quarterback’s anti-vaccine stance.
In November 2021, Kimmel joked about Rodgers testing positive for COVID-19 and missing a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The news of his positive test led to the discovery by the public that Rodgers had not been vaccinated.
“Aaron Rodgers reportedly received a homeopathic treatment over the summer instead of the vaccine,” Kimmel said, setting up a joke about the quarterback’s man bun with a photo. “Nothing says I heel myself with crystals like this haircut.”
The NFL ended up fining the Packers $300,000 while Rodgers was fined $14,650 for misleading the league about his vaccination status.
Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” a few days after the fine that he stood by his comments on vaccination, but apologized for misleading people about his own status.
“I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading,” Rodgers said. “To anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility for those comments.”
ABC News reached out to Rodgers’ agent, David Dunn, and the New York Jets for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
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(NEW YORK) — A former adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, along with a former aide to one-time presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, have admitted to unlawfully lobbying on behalf of Qatar, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Barry Bennett and Douglas Watts admitted to lying to the Justice Department about their work running a pair of Washington, D.C.-based advocacy groups that advocated for Qatar’s interests, without properly registering as agents for the wealthy Middle East country.
The admissions are part of a deferred prosecution agreement that will dismiss charges against them after a year of compliance.
Both Bennett and Watts served as advisers to Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign before Bennett ultimately joined Trump’s campaign as an unpaid adviser.
After Trump’s election, court papers say Bennett established the consulting firm “Avenue Strategies” and tasked Watts with operating a separate company that promoted the interests of Bennett’s foreign clients.
The two established an organization called “Yemen Crisis Watch” that promoted a public relations campaign denigrating Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their role in the conflict in Yemen — all on behalf of Bennett’s Qatari clients, according to the Justice Department.
Bennett has agreed to pay the U.S. a $100,000 fine as part of the deferred prosecution agreement, while Watts will pay a $25,000 fine.
The charges against them will be formally lifted after one year of compliance with the terms of the deal.
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(NEW YORK) — An imam was shot outside a mosque in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday morning.
The imam, who has not been named, was taken to University Hospital in critical condition, according to Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé.
The shooting occurred just after 6 a.m. outside Masjid Muhammad, Fragé said.
Investigators do not have a motive at this point, according to an official briefed on the probe.
The investigation is being handled cooperatively by Newark police and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(NEW YORK) — The first wave of extreme weather conditions from a powerful storm system is making its way across the U.S., bringing heavy rounds of rain and snow to multiple regions.
The storm brought high surf to much of California’s coast before it dumped precipitation over a large swath of the West.
As the first system moves over the East Coast, another will come on its heels, inundating the West once again.
Here is what to expect from the first storms to start the new year:
Storm system dumping rain and snow in the West
The first storm began to bring rain to the coasts of Oregon and Washington on Tuesday morning. It was snowing in the higher elevations from Washington to Northern California by Tuesday evening, with rain stretching through San Francisco.
It was raining or snowing throughout much of California by Wednesday morning.
Parts of the Sierras in the highest elevations could see up to 18 inches of snowfall from this storm, with wind gusts up to 45 mph. Winter storm warnings have been issued for areas including Yosemite National Park.
Ahead of the storm, the Sierras measured a below-average snowpack, the California Department of Natural Resources announced on Tuesday with the release of the first snow survey. The state obtains 30% of its water supply from the Sierra Mountain range, according to the department.
In Southern California, up to 8 inches could fall in the higher elevations of the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, as well as the Santa Barbara interior mountains.
Up to 2 inches of snow could fall along Interstate 5 at Tejon Pass on Wednesday and Wednesday night, with the potential for significant travel delays due to snow, ice and gusty winds.
Where the storm is heading next
The storm will continue east on Wednesday, with winter weather advisories issued in northern Arizona for between 4 and 10 inches of snow for regions including the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. The timing for this snow is Wednesday night and especially Thursday morning.
The system will then bring the snow with it as it moves over the Rockies on Thursday morning and continues to push east.
Rain will begin from east Texas to Louisiana and Oklahoma on Friday morning, with the precipitation pushing past the Gulf states throughout Friday. The heaviest rain is expected near the coast.
While flash flooding is not a concern in this region due to the fast-moving pace of the system, the National Weather Service advises people who live in areas that flood easily to use caution. The storm will be dumping rain from Florida to Tennessee and the Carolinas by Saturday mornings. Snow is possible farther north, from Missouri to Virginia.
The storm will then trek up the east coast on Saturday evening. Rain is expected in Raleigh and Norfolk, with snow possible in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Saturday night and Sunday evening, the storm will continue to bring precipitation chances to the Northeast with a mix of rain and snow along the coasts and snow farther inland. For the New York City area, confidence in accumulating snow is highest across the Lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut. But it is still too early to have confidence in accumulation amounts.
This is the most significant snowstorm for much of the Northeast in more than a year and has the potential to break record streaks without a 1-inch daily snowfall along the I-95 corridor.
In New York City, it has been a record 688 days since there was at least 1 inch of snow accumulation — on Feb. 13, 2022. Philadelphia has gone a record 703 days without at least 1 inch of snowfall, and Baltimore has gone a record 716 days.
Washington, D.C., has not seen at least 1 inch of snow accumulation for 716 days, although not a record for the region.
Only 21% of the U.S. is covered in snow right now, which is the lowest for the start of a new year since 2012. The storm should help raise snow cover across the country.
Dangerous surf occurring in California
Rough waves are expected to hit California this week and through the weekend due to the back-to-back storms.
The high surf advisories begin Tuesday night and will continue through Thursday for much of the California coast, including recently hard-hit beaches and piers.
The northern part of the advisories extend from north of San Francisco to Big Sur, where large breaking waves could reach 23 feet. High surf advisories were in effect for the Bay Area on Wednesday morning and surrounding coastline.
The waves will not arrive to Southern California until Wednesday afternoon.
Beaches in Ventura County, San Luis Obispo County could see waves reach up to 15 feet, while San Diego beaches could see waves up to 10 feet Wednesday afternoon through Thursday.
While these waves are not expected to be as high as the last storm, they will still pose a danger.
Last week, strong waves in Ventura County, California, injured eight people after rogue waves crashed over the seawall and flooded coastal areas.
There will also be an increased risk of ocean drowning, as strong rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Large breaking waves can also cause injury, wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats near shore. These waves can also move large objects such as logs, crushing anyone caught underneath.
Localized beach erosion caused by the large waves crashing ashore is also possible, officials said.
Next cross-country storm will have different impacts
The next cross-country storm will begin affecting the Pacific Northwest with rain and snow on Saturday before it moves east through Jan. 10, forecasts show.
Heavy snow will fall near Kansas on Friday morning, while rain inundates regions near Houston and Dallas. The storm will then move across the Gulf Coast throughout the day on Friday, bringing the chance for minor flooding.
By Monday, the storm will have moved out of the West Coast and will be a heavy rainmaker as it treks east in the days that follow, bringing a chance for heavy flooding and strong winds.
The warmer temperatures could also contribute to rapid snow melt from the snow falling from the first storm, which will increase the flood threat.
While the next storm system could be a big snow-maker in the Midwest, the precipitation will likely turn to rain as it reaches higher temperatures in the Northeast. It will be warmer and therefore snow won’t spread as far south as with the first storm.
Another round of high surf on the West Coast is also likely over the weekend as the next major storm rolls in.
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(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reopening operations at four ports of entry in border towns.
Biden administration officials announced Tuesday that due to the decrease in migrants over the past few days, they will reopen operations in Lukeville, Arizona; Eagle Pass, Texas; San Diego, California; and Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 4. CBP previously closed the entry ports over what the agency said was a surge in migrants at those locations.
“CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday. “We continue to assess security situations, adjust our operational plans, and deploy resources to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes – such as scheduling an appointment via CBP One – and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States.”
On a call with reporters Tuesday night, senior administration officials touted the successes of a meeting last week between the Mexican government and Secretary State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. They pointed to the meeting as one of the reasons the Mexican government was helpful in tackling the flow of migration into the U.S. and said they would host officials from the Mexican government this month.
There were 500 encounters on Monday in the Del Rio, Texas sector, which encompasses Eagle Pass, a decline from the record number of daily encounters seen at the border last month, a senior official said.
Eagle Pass is where House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans will visit on Wednesday. Officials on Tuesday night’s call urged House Republicans to come to the table after a deal on border funding, which they said was headed in the “right direction,” is negotiated in the Senate.
A senior administration official said Speaker Johnson and House Republicans “should stop playing games and stop playing politics and work with them and the Senate to pass meaningful reforms.”
President Joe Biden weighed in on the negotiations on Tuesday, telling pool reporters that Republicans “ought to” give his Administration the money they asked for.
“We ought to do something,” he said as he returned to The White House.
Preliminary data show that 302,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in December, sources told ABC News — the highest monthly average in U.S. history.
A senior administration official said that since the end of Title 42 in May, they’ve removed or returned 460,000 migrants to their home countries, including 75,000 family units,
“This is almost the same number as we removed in all of fiscal year 2019, and in fact exceeds the number of removals and returns in each full fiscal year from 2015 to 2018,” a senior administration official said.
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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge decided on Dec. 31 that Mississippi can move forward in creating a state-run court system of unelected judges and prosecutors to preside over part of the majority-Black city of Jackson. However, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals separately temporarily blocked the court’s creation until Jan. 5.
This law, by the majority-white and Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature, has been the source of controversy and contention in the state. Some residents and civil rights organizations claim it takes away Black residents’ right to vote for local officials.
What does this new system mean for Jackson?
Under this law, the state attorney general and the state Supreme Court chief justice will appoint attorneys and judges to serve the two courts, respectively, who would typically be voted for or appointed by local officials, as is the case with other Hinds County judicial officials.
These courts will serve the Capitol Complex Improvement District, which was created by the Mississippi Legislature to establish funding for infrastructure projects in downtown Jackson.
The legislation would also widen the Capitol Police’s jurisdiction.
The Republican-backed law was sponsored by state Rep. Trey Lamar, who argued that the effort would address crime in Jackson, as well as help with “a backlog, a need for assistance in the Hinds County judiciary.”
The controversy behind the law
Critics of the court system say it strips residents of their “constitutional rights” to vote for and elect their judges and prosecutors.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba called the law “the most oppressive legislation that we have seen in our city’s history” when it was passed in the state House in February 2023.
“It’s oppressive because it strips the right of Black folks to vote and it’s oppressive because it puts a military force over people that has no accountability to them,” he told reporters at the time. “It’s oppressive because there will be judges who will determine sentences over people’s lives. It’s oppressive because it redirects their tax dollars to something they don’t endorse or believe in.”
It was signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves in April 2023.
“This legislation won’t solve the entire problem, but if we can stop one shooting, if we can respond to one more 911 call – then we’re one step closer to a better Jackson,” Reeves said in a social media post.
The civil rights group NAACP, alongside several Jackson residents, sued shortly after to stop the law’s Jan. 1, 2024, enforcement.
The complaint argued that the law is designed to “suppress and chill Black residents’ exercise of their First Amendment rights and strip Black residents of the political control they have fought to obtain and to which they are entitled.”
Black residents make up 82.8% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census.
“In violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, these laws target Jackson’s majority-Black residents on the basis of race for a separate and unequal policing structure and criminal justice system to which no other residents of the State are subjected,” read the complaint.
It continued, “Under this new regime and unlike in any other jurisdiction in Mississippi, in certain areas of Jackson, a citizen can be arrested by a police department led by a State-appointed official, be charged by a State-appointed prosecutor, be tried before a State-appointed judge, and be sentenced to imprisonment in a State penitentiary regardless of the severity of the act.”
Lamar waived off concerns, citing the court’s lower or “inferior” status, which means that decisions will be subject to scrutiny from a higher court.
“The people who voted for this bill are trying to make Jackson safer, that’s all they’re interested in and if you’re not committing crimes in Jackson, you really don’t have anything to worry about,” said Lamar.
The judge who decided to allow for the court’s creation, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, said plaintiffs failed to show they would be personally subjected to discriminatory treatment and therefore “lack standing to obtain the injunctive relief that they demand.”
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit granted an administrative stay on the law’s enforcement pending appeal. The order noted that “nothing in this order is to be construed as indicating any view on the merits of any issue.”
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(WASHINGTON) — There were 302,000 encounters along the southwest border in December, marking the highest monthly total ever recorded, sources told ABC News.
Sources stressed the numbers are preliminary and could change.
The numbers — a hot-button election year topic — come as the Justice Department threatened to sue the state of Texas over its passage of SB. 4, which allows for state and local law enforcement to apprehend anyone who they believe is in the country illegally.
DOJ says it intends to sue on Wednesday if Texas doesn’t “forbear enforcement of SB 4.”
President Joe Biden “is destroying America,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in response to the threat of a DOJ lawsuit.
“The Biden Admin. not only refuses to enforce current U.S. immigration laws, they now want to stop Texas from enforcing laws against illegal immigration,” Abbott posted on X on Thursday. “I’ve never seen such hostility to the rule of law in America.”
CBP says it has surged personnel to hot spots.
“Encounter numbers continue to fluctuate, as smugglers and bad actors continue to spread falsehoods and show complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable migrants,” CBP said in a statement. “We remain vigilant and stand ready to ensure safety of our personnel, migrants, and local communities, and the security of our southwest border.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional Republicans are headed to the border on the same day the lawsuit is intended to be filed. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to visit the border next week.
Marsha Espinosa, the former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said the congressional trip would do less to achieve border security than fulfilling Biden’s funding requests.
“While the Biden administration has worked to rebuild the system that Trump demolished, ultimately only Congress can fix this,” Espinosa, now a partner at Conexión, said.
It is beyond frustrating that Republicans have ignored or voted against repeated requests for policy changes and funding, which in no doubt contributed to the situation we see today. They don’t need to travel thousands of miles to hold a press conference when all they have to do is walk to the House floor and vote to fund DHS or consider the bill Biden sent them almost three years ago,” she said.
Biden sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mayorkas to Mexico last week to meet with the country’s president and their Mexican counterparts as both countries struggle to address urgent issues posed by surging irregular migration.
There are many factors as to why there has been an increase in the number of migrants along the border, experts note.
Smugglers and bad actors driven purely by profit will use anything to drive folks north — including possible or perceived changes in migration policies (just like they did with Title 42, possible government shutdowns, and other events) — to prey on vulnerable migrants, a law enforcement source told ABC News.
Additionally, a different law enforcement source told ABC News that the holidays play a factor, and anecdotally, there is misinformation about CBP One app, used by asylum seekers to schedule appointments, shutting down. CBP One, established by DHS to help with the processing of migrants earlier this year, is not shutting down, the source said.
Fake travel agencies emerging in cities like Dakar, Senegal, are also advertising travel to the U.S., according to a CBP official. They advertise visa-free travel to Europe for the Senegalese, which would then open up travel to the Western hemisphere if the offers were legitimate. These “travel agencies” sell complete packages to connect them to a smuggling organization that will then facilitate their movement up to the border, the CBP official said.
The top CBP official said they drop migrants off in remote locations to divert CBP resources.
“These smugglers are recklessly putting migrants into harm’s way: in remote locations across the border, onto the tops of trains, or into the waters of the Rio Grande River,” Troy Miller, the acting commissioner of CBP, said in a statement.
A different CBP official said smugglers and bad actors attempt to overwhelm border patrol to “guarantee” release of migrants.
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(NEW YORK) — Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence officer sentenced to military prison for one of the biggest classified material leaks in U.S. history, spoke out during a New Year’s Day performance at a poetry event in New York City about the year she spent in solitary confinement.
The 36-year-old anti-secrecy activist and whistleblower spoke Monday night at the Poetry Project’s 50th Annual New Year’s Day Marathon at New York City’s St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery, telling a standing-room-only crowd that her time in prison taught her “there’s a lot of power in silence.”
Manning began her performance by standing silently at a podium for three minutes before addressing the crowd.
“So, that was a few minutes of silence,” Manning then said. “I became very used to this experience that you just had, which is sitting there in silence for several minutes. I did that for almost a year.”
Manning, who came out as transgender in 2013, was imprisoned for seven years at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, after being convicted in 2013 by a military tribunal under the Espionage and Computer Fraud and Abuse Acts. She also pleaded guilty to some of the charges stemming from the leak.
Manning was imprisoned from 2010 to 2017, when then-President Barack Obama, with just three days remaining in his second White House term, commuted the more than three-decade sentence she received.
Manning said Monday night that the silence she endured during solitary confinement has also benefited her since her release from prison.
“I think there’s a lot of power in silence. I think that there’s a lot of power in self-reflection, introspection,” Manning said. “And I wanted to share a little of that that I had because it’s very meaningful to me.”
She said she has spent the last year going through a “time of healing for myself, for my own experience of being in solitary confinement for a year.”
“I’ve been very active and engaging in a lot of different things,” said Manning, who published a memoir titled README.txt in 2022. “But I’ve been finding that sometimes, I need to take the time to once again find that moment of introspection and self-reflection, despite the fact that I’d love to say so much, I have so much to say. But sometimes we just have to look inside ourselves and I hope that you all can appreciate that as well.”
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the unauthorized release of approximately 750,000 classified government documents to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.
Among the materials Manning leaked was information that included low-level battlefield reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, evidence of civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantanamo prison camp detainee profiles, and U.S. diplomatic correspondence.
In a 2017 interview with ABC News following her release from prison, Manning said she leaked the documents because she wanted to prompt a public domestic debate over the role of the military and U.S. foreign policy. She said she didn’t think leaking the documents would threaten national security.
When asked why she didn’t share her concerns up through the chain of command, Manning responded, “the channels are there, but they don’t work.”
Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of the charges stemming from the leak, and a military tribunal convicted Manning on other charges, including espionage, theft and fraud. The tribunal, however, found Manning not guilty of the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, which carries a life sentence.
Upon commuting Manning’s sentence in 2017, President Obama released a statement saying, in part, “I feel very comfortable that justice has been served and that a message has still been sent that when it comes to our national security.”
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