chelsea manning pardon
Chelsea Manning is pictured in this 2010 photograph obtained on Aug. 14, 2013. U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS

Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning was released Wednesday after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence for leaking classified military information to WikiLeaks. She revealed her new look on Instagram Thursday as supporters flooded her feed in support.

“Okay, so here I am everyone!” Manning wrote in the caption. In it, she sported a short haircut, red-tinted lipstick and a collared, v-neck dress. The photo had been liked 8,000 on Instagram times and 32,000 times on Twitter just two hours after it was posted to her social accounts.

 

Okay, so here I am everyone!! _ . . #HelloWorld

A post shared by Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea87) on

Manning shared another photo Tuesday of her first steps outside prison walls in a pair of Converse trainers. “First steps of freedom,” she wrote in the caption.

Manning was convicted in 2013 of more than a dozen charges — which included six Espionage Act violations in addition to theft and computer fraud — but was acquitted of aiding the enemy, the most serious offense. Manning’s sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in the final days of his presidency.

Read: Chelsea Manning To Resume Active Duty In Army, Fight For Transgender Causes After Release

The transgender soldier began her prison sentence as Bradley Manning before being diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2013. After filing a lawsuit and enlisting the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Manning was able to receive the hormone therapy necessary for her to transition. In a public statement released August 2013, she wrote:

“As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility). I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.”

The Associate Press reported Thursday that both Manning and her attorneys refused to release information about her post-prison whereabouts or plans for the future.