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"Welcome Home" Fundraiser For Chelsea Manning Nets $21,000 In 24 Hours

President Obama commuted Manning's 35-year sentence in January.

A fundraising campaign for Chelsea Manning has garnered more than $21,000 in its first 24 hours.

Manning's friends and family launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover basic living expenses after she is released in May. Posted online Tuesday night, it surpassed $18,000 in its 18 hours.

Manning's 35-year sentence for leaking more than 700,000 confidential military and State Department documents was commuted by President Obama shortly before he left office.

While incarcerated she was subjected to solitary confinement, multiple suicide attempts, and went on a hunger strike to protest being denied the right to transition.

“It’s incredible to see this outpouring of support for Chelsea, but it’s not surprising,” said Evan Greer, a friend of Manning and campaign director of the civil rights group Fight for the Future. “Chelsea has done so much for all of us, and inspired so many people, supporting her as she transitions back into the free world is the least that we can do.”

Manning shared her appreciation on Twitter, writing “Thank you all so very much for pitching in and helping me start my new life." She is slated to leave Ft. Leavenworth on May 17.

Last month, Donald Trump blasted Manning as an "ungrateful traitor" for calling Barack Obama a “weak leader.” She actually didn't call him that—instead she wrote “The one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy: do not start off with a compromise... What we need is an unapologetic progressive leader.”

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