Chelsea Manning says she attended far-right pro-Trump event 'to gather intel'

Chelsea Manning says she attended far-right pro-Trump event 'to gather intel'
Former whistleblower pictured at party thrown by conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, but she insists it was purely for intelligence gathering

Ed Pilkington in New York
Mon 22 Jan 2018 22.48 GMT

Chelsea Manning, the former whistleblower who is now running for the US Senate, is defending herself against accusations that she has forged links with the far right after she appeared at a pro-Trump party thrown by notorious conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich.

In a tweet posted on Monday, Manning attempted to calm a storm of criticism that erupted after she was spotted at the Saturday event, dubbed “A Night for Freedom”, in New York. She insisted that her decision to turn up at the celebration of Donald Trump’s first year in the White House was an act of intelligence gathering designed to thwart what she called “fascists/alt-right”.

“I took an opportunity to gather intel on them b/c the ideology they peddle threatens everybody,” the tweet said.

Whether Manning has said enough to staunch the critical questions on social media remains to be seen. Her tweet made no mention of a photograph that was posted over the weekend that shows her crouching and smiling as part of a group shot that includes far-right activists and conspiracy theorists.

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