Transgender activist and soldier Chelsea Manning, who’s been adapting to life outside of prison since May 2017 after her sentence was mostly commuted by Barack Obama, sparked fears for her life after a pair of alarming tweets on Sunday. Both posts have since been deleted, but the first tweet read as follows:
“I’m sorry – I tried – I’m sorry I let you all down. Im not really cut out for this world – I tried adapting to this world out here but I failed you – I couldn’t do this anymore – I can take people I don’t know hating me but not my own friends. I tried and I’m sorry about my failure.”
The second tweet apparently showed Manning’s pajama-clad legs and feet as she stared down from the edge of a tall building.
The tweets caused a flurry of concern with some replies including the Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) and others labeling this as a “wakeup call for the amount of cruelty & abuse” inflicted upon public (and some private) figures online. Soon enough, however, the pair of tweets disappeared and was replaced by a brief note that indicated that Chelsea was “safe” and speaking with friends.
** chelsea is safe. she is on the phone with friends, thanks everyone for your concern and please give her some space
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 28, 2018
As of now, Manning, who announced a Senate campaign out of Maryland in January, hasn’t issued a formal statement through her spokesperson on this matter, but fortunately, it appears that she’s in the care of loved ones during a difficult time. During her years of confinement after leaking government and military intelligence to WikiLeaks, Manning reportedly attempted suicide multiple times and was placed on watch.