From Shawn Nottingham, CNN <\/p>\n
updated 6:19 AM EDT, Thu April 24, 2014 <\/p>\n
STORY HIGHLIGHTS <\/p>\n
(CNN) -- Bradley Edward Manning is no more. <\/p>\n
A Kansas judge on Wednesday granted the former Army intelligence analyst's request to formally be known as Chelsea Elizabeth Manning. <\/p>\n
\"I've been working for months for this change, and waiting for years,\" she said in a statement applauding the order. <\/p>\n
\"It's worth noting that in both mail and in-person, I've often been asked, 'Why are you changing your name?' The answer couldn't be simpler: because it's a far better, richer, and more honest reflection of who I am and always have been -- a woman named Chelsea.\" <\/p>\n
Manning is currently serving a 35-year sentence at the Army prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. <\/p>\n
She was convicted in July of stealing and disseminating 750,000 pages of documents and videos to WikiLeaks in what has been described as the largest leak of classified material in U.S. history. Manning was found guilty of 20 of the 22 charges against her, including violations of the U.S. Espionage Act. <\/p>\n
George Wright, an Army spokesman, said Wednesday the name change would have little consequence. <\/p>\n
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