In her first spoken comments on the topic, Manning told a conference the Harvard incident marks the end of free political debate in academic institutions 
 
 Chelsea Manning has accused Harvard University of caving into pressure from the CIA in reversing its invitation to her to become a visiting fellow, in what the former US soldier and whistleblower described as a “police state”. 
 
 
 
 Chelsea Manning hung up phone on Harvard dean who delivered fellowship snub Read more 
 
 In her first spoken comments on the Harvard debacle, Manning told a conference on Sunday that the university’s abrupt U-turn over the invitation, made in the face of fierce criticism from senior figures in the CIA, marked the end of free political debate in academic institutions. 
 
 “So this is one of the American government institutions [the CIA] telling one of the American academic institutions [Harvard], no, you cannot bring this to your school,” she said. 
 
 “And that’s what that was. This is a police state. This is a military intelligence and it is a police state in which we can no longer engage in actual political discourse in our institutions.” 
 
 She added: “Our institutions have no discussion.” 
 
 
 
 I’m walking out of prison and I see, literally, a dystopian novel unfolding before my eyes Chelsea Manning 
 
 Harvard reversed its decision to name Manning a visiting fellow on Thursday after the CIA director, Mike Pompeo, scrapped a planned appearance in protest and called Manning an “American traitor”. 
 
 Manning made the comments at an annual conference in Massachusetts called the Nantucket Project, a venture founded to bring together creative thinkers. Organisers said about 600 people attended. 
 
 It was one of Manning’s first public appearances since she was released from a military prison in May, having served seven years of a 35-year sentence which was commuted by Barack Obama in his final days in office. 
 
 Eugene Jarecki, an award-winning documentary director, moderated the discussion. He asked Manning if it “reflects something about the state of our time” that she was still the subject of pressure by the CIA and labelled by some as a traitor. 
 
 Manning said she took a risk to contribute to political and public discourse and “change the tone of the conversation”, but that it hadn’t changed and if anything “things have gotten worse”. 
 
 “I’m walking out of prison and I see, literally, a dystopian novel unfolding before my eyes,” she said. “That’s how I feel when I walk in the American streets today.” 
 
 Chelsea Manning’s story highlights the key issues of our time | Eugene Jarecki Read more 
 
 Manning said she was not disheartened by what Harvard had done under CIA pressure. On the contrary: “I’m honoured to be the first disinvited trans woman to the Harvard University fellowship program. And I am, I’m honoured. 
 
 “I don’t view that as something I’m ashamed of. I view that as just as much an honour and distinction as the fellowship itself.” 
 
 Manning also talked about the lack of privacy in today’s society, calling it “dead”, as well as the power of civil disobedience and the importance of forgiveness, saying “we should forgive everybody at some point”. She said she would keep speaking out. 
 
 “Everybody keeps telling me, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t say this. Maybe you shouldn’t do this event. Maybe you shouldn’t talk. Maybe you shouldn’t do this,’” she said. 
 
 “And I’m just like, OK, the fact that you’re telling me I shouldn’t do this is the reason why I should. And I think that’s what we can all do.” 

 Chelsea Manning looks up before going on stage Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017 for an appearance at a forum, in Nantucket, Mass. The forum was part of The Nantucket Project's annual gathering on the island of... (Associated Press) 
 
 NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — Chelsea Manning said Sunday she is not an "American traitor" as her critics have claimed, and that she did what she thought was right. 
 
 Manning made the remarks at a conference in Nantucket that was one of her first public appearances since being released for a military prison in May. The Associated Press was the only media outlet in attendance. 
 
 "I believe I did the best I could in my circumstances to make an ethical decision," she told the crowd when asked by the moderator if she was a traitor. 
 
 The 29-year-old transgender woman was known as Bradley Manning when she was convicted in 2013 of leaking a trove of classified documents. She was released after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by President Barack Obama in his final days in office. 
 
 Manning spoke at the annual conference for The Nantucket Project in Massachusetts, a venture founded to bring together creative thinkers to uncover ideas. Organizers say about 600 people attended. 
 
 Tom Scott, who co-founded The Nantucket Project with Kate Brosnan, said they invited Manning for "clarity of understanding." 
 
 "My brother and father are Marines. They would respectfully challenge some of her decisions," he said. "Barack Obama commuted her sentence. My instinct is that he's a good and trustful man. How do those two things mix? Seeing her in person offers, perhaps, the best way to decipher that." 
 
 Several audience members said they were intrigued to hear from Manning. Sara O'Reilly, a Nantucket resident who has attended several past conferences, said the speakers are typically a "little edgy." She said she doesn't judge Manning and other people have done "far worse" things. Bonnie Roseman, of West Palm Beach, Florida, said after the talk that Manning is courageous. 
 
 Scott said some people were upset that Manning was invited, but he didn't consider retracting the invitation. Harvard University reversed its decision to name Manning a visiting fellow Friday, a day after CIA Director Mike Pompeo scrapped a planned appearance over the title for Manning. Pompeo called Manning an "American traitor." 
 
 Manning said Harvard's decision signaled to her that it's a "police state" and it's not possible to engage in actual political discourse in academic institutions. 
 
 "I'm not ashamed of being disinvited," she said. "I view that just as much of an honored distinction as the fellowship itself." 
 
 Eugene Jarecki, an award-winning documentary director, moderated the discussion. He asked Manning if it "reflects something about the state of our time" that she's still the subject of pressure by the CIA on Harvard and labeled a traitor. 
 
 Manning said she took a risk to contribute to political and public discourse and "change the tone of the conversation," but it hasn't changed, and if anything, "things have gotten worse." 
 
 "I'm walking out of prison and I see, literally, a dystopian novel unfolding before my eyes," she said. "That's how I feel when I walk in the American streets today." 
 
 Manning also talked about the lack of privacy in today's society, calling it "dead," as well as the power of civil disobedience and the importance of forgiveness, saying "we should forgive everybody at some point." She said she'll keep speaking out. 
 
 "Everybody keeps telling me, 'Maybe you shouldn't say this. Maybe you shouldn't do this event. Maybe you shouldn't talk. Maybe you shouldn't do this,'" she said. "And I'm just like, OK, the fact that you're telling me I shouldn't do this is the reason why I should. And I think that's what we can all do." 
 
 Scott said after that while he was still processing what Manning said, he thought it was a great conversation and a valuable use of their time.
– Harvard withdrew its fellowship offer to Chelsea Manning last week after CIA Director Mike Pompeo refused to speak there (he called Manning an "American traitor"), but the military whistleblower and transgender activist pushed back on that assessment during a weekend appearance in Massachusetts. The Guardian reports that Manning spoke before about 600 attendees at the Nantucket Project conference, designed to assemble innovators, with co-founder Tom Scott saying Manning had been asked to speak for "clarity of understanding." (Scott added, per Politico, that there were some attendees who weren't thrilled that Manning was speaking, but canceling her speech didn't cross his mind.) Manning's talk was one of her first public appearances since she was released from military prison in May after then-President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence before he left office. During her Sunday speech—which was initially reported on by the AP, the sole media outlet there—Manning said she chose to look at being disinvited from Harvard as an honor of sorts and noted that we're now living in a "police state," where academic institutions don't offer a credible venue for political discourse. She said that as she left prison, she witnessed "a dystopian novel unfolding before my eyes" and says privacy is "dead" and civil disobedience is a powerful tool. As for her decision to get involved with WikiLeaks, in reference to Pompeo's (and others') critique of her as a traitor, Manning replied, "I believe I did the best I could in my circumstances to make an ethical decision." She added that she'd hoped speaking publicly would "change the tone of the conversation," but conceded that things have only "gotten worse."