One year ago this month, the military trial against Private Chelsea Manning began in Fort Meade, Maryland. After leaking classified documents related to US military abuses in Afghanistan, she was convicted in 2013 of crimes including violating the Espionage Act, and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison. Glenn Greenwald has called Manning the most important whistleblower since Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.
In a new graphic novel, The United States vs. Private Chelsea Manning, available now from O/R Books, Clark Stoeckley documents the complex arguments that led to Manning’s conviction. In this excerpt, the defense argues that Chelsea Manning sent her leaks to WikiLeaks with the reasonable understanding that WikiLeaks was a journalistic outfit, and not a political force aligned with America’s enemies. With digital media expert Yochai Benkler on the stand, a fascinating debate ensues over the meaning of journalism and the pursuit of transparency in the digital age. Click the image below to open the excerpt.
Clark StoeckleyClark Stoeckley, widely known as the WikiLeaks Truck Driver, is an artist and activist working in a broad range of genres and under numerous names. He received a BFA in Alternative Media from Webster University and an MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Art from Brooklyn College. His work has been shown at the Contemporary Museum St. Louis, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Emily Harvey Gallery, and Plato’s Cave and featured in ARTnews, The Nation, and The Wall Street Journal. His courtroom sketches from Bradley Manning’s court martial have appeared in VICE Magazine and on FireDogLake. He teaches Experimental Digital and Analog Media, Painting, and Drawing at Bloomfield College in New Jersey.