/ Updated By Courtney Kube and Mary Emily O'Hara 
 
 Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning walked out of a military prison early Wednesday after seven years behind bars. 
 
 Manning's 35-year sentence for leaking an enormous trove of military intelligence records was commuted by President Barack Obama in January. 
 
 At the time, the White House said Manning had accepted responsibility, expressed remorse and served time. 
 
 A U.S Army official confirmed to NBC News that she was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison at around 3 a.m. ET. 
 
 Manning made her first statement as a free woman on Wednesday, according to a statement sent out by the ACLU. 
 
 "After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived," said Manning. "I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I’m figuring things out right now — which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me." 
 
 She also uploaded the first photo taken of her in years, a snapshot of her shoes that she posted to a brand-new Instagram account. 
 
 A few hours later, Manning's dreams of finally eating a slice of pizza came true. 
 
 Pfc. Manning, 29, will remain an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, but she won't be paid a salary and it's highly unlikely that she will be called to serve. However, her "excess leave" status will legally entitle her to military medical care, along with commissary privileges. 
 
 The Crescent, Oklahoma, native tweeted after being granted clemency that she plans to move to Maryland. Neither she nor her attorneys explained why, but she has an aunt who lives there. 
 
 Manning, a former intelligence analyst in Iraq, is still appealing her conviction in a case that could take years. The government has yet to respond to the appeal. 
 
 "She is looking forward to eating pizza, swimming, playing PlayStation and meeting the many friends who have supported her over the years" 
 
 Then known as Bradley Manning, she leaked nearly 750,000 military files and cables to WikiLeaks aged 22. The materials included battlefield video. 
 
 Manning said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military's disregard of the effects of war on civilians and that she released information that she didn't believe would harm the U.S. No document was classified higher than secret and her defenders say no one was endangered by the leaks. 
 
 Critics said the leaks laid bare some of the nation's most-sensitive secrets and endangered information sources, prompting the State Department to help some of those people move to protect their safety. Several ambassadors were recalled, expelled or reassigned because of embarrassing disclosures. 
 
 Manning was court-martialed and sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison. 
 
 In a statement given to NBC's TODAY the day after sentencing, Manning came out as a transgender woman. 
 
 Manning said in a statement released by her attorneys last week that she was looking forward to being released from Fort Leavenworth. 
 
 People hold signs calling for Chelsea Manning's release during a gay pride parade in San Francisco on June 28, 2015. Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters, file 
 
 “For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," she said. "I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world. Freedom used to be something that I dreamed of but never allowed myself to fully imagine." 
 
 Manning's ACLU attorney and transgender advocate, Chase Strangio, told NBC News that the current focus is on "building her life" once she steps out of prison. 
 
 "She is looking forward to eating pizza, swimming, playing PlayStation and meeting the many friends who have supported her over the years but who were never allowed to visit in person," Strangio said. "Beyond that, she is waiting to experience life outside of prison before declaring any future plans. After so many years of government control over her body and gender, I know she is eager to grow her hair, express her gender and negotiate decisions on her own terms." 
 
 Manning attempted suicide twice last year — once in July, another in November — while imprisoned in Kansas. She also began a hunger strike last September over what she says was the lack of treatment she was receiving for her gender dysphoria. 
 
 The Department of Defense has repeatedly declined to discuss Manning's treatment in prison. 
 
 Two fundraising projects are underway, with supporters raising money to fund Manning’s transition from prison back to civilian life. On GoFundMe.com, over $150,000 had been raised by Wednesday to pay for “rent, utilities, health care, clothing, and other living expenses for the first year.” 
 
 Also on Wednesday, a group of musicians released a benefit album called Hugs For Chelsea. The compilation was created by transgender songwriter Evan Greer, and features high-profile artists from rock, indie, hip-hop, and punk genres. Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Talib Kweli, Against Me!, Mirah, Amanda Palmer, and others contributed songs to the $25 release, with REM’s Michael Stipe posting a short video on Twitter to encourage people to purchase it online. 
 
 However, not everyone thinks Manning deserved to be freed. 
 
 President Donald Trump, days before being inaugurated, wrote on Twitter that Manning is "TRAITOR ... who should never have been released from prison." 
 
 House Speaker Paul Ryan said at the time that Obama's decision was "outrageous." 
 
 He added: "Chelsea Manning's treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation's most sensitive secrets." ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What next for Chelsea Manning after release? 
 
 US soldier Chelsea Manning is celebrating her freedom after being released from military prison. 
 
 Manning took to Twitter after her release, photographing her "first steps of freedom" in civilian clothes. 
 
 In a brief statement, she said she was focused on the future, which "is far more important than the past". 
 
 She served seven years of a 35-year sentence for leaking hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and military files to Wikileaks. 
 
 Most of her sentence was commuted by then-US President Barack Obama in January. 
 
 In a statement issued through the American Civil Liberties Union, which provided her with legal support, Manning said: "After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived. I am looking forward to so much!" 
 
 She added: "Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I'm figuring things out right now - which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me." 
 
 A US Army spokesperson confirmed that she left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas in the early morning. 
 
 Image copyright Twitter Image caption Manning posted her message to a new Instagram account at the same time 
 
 The 29-year-old soldier was born Bradley Manning. 
 
 A day after she was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013, Manning said she had felt female since childhood and wanted to live as a woman called Chelsea. 
 
 "For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," she said in a statement last week ahead of her release. "I can imagine surviving and living as the person who I am and can finally be in the outside world." 
 
 Speaking to the BBC, Manning's friend, the journalist Glenn Greenwald - who was involved in the publication of leaks from Edward Snowden - said she faced a difficult life outside prison. 
 
 "She's going to live in a country where the top officials have expressed extreme denunciations of her, condemnations of her, who regard her as a traitor," he said. 
 
 "But the reality is that if you look back at what it is that she achieved, she revealed unquestionable war crimes, her disclosures led to reforms around the world." 
 
 President Obama's decision to commute her sentence drew criticism from leading Republicans, including Senator John McCain, who called it a "a grave mistake". 
 
 'Back to Maryland' 
 
 Manning was convicted of 20 charges in connection with the leaks, including espionage. She was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. 
 
 She defended the leaking by saying she had wanted to spark a public debate in the US about the role of the military and US foreign policy, but later apologised for "hurting the US", saying she had mistakenly believed she could "change the world for the better". 
 
 In January she tweeted that she wanted to move to Maryland after being released, a state where she previously lived. 
 
 On Monday she tweeted: "Two more days until the freedom of civilian life ^_^ Now hunting for private #healthcare like millions of Americans =P". 
 
 Manning will remain on active army duty while her military court conviction remains under appeal. She will have healthcare benefits but will be unpaid, the army says. 
 
 An online campaign set up by her attorney has raised $150,000 (£115,725) to pay for her living expenses for the first year after her release. 
 
 If the appeal is denied, she could be dishonourably discharged from the army, US media say. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Chelsea Manning has been held in an all-male facility 
 
 Manning was deployed in Iraq as an intelligence analyst when she leaked hundreds of thousands of files to Wikileaks. 
 
 Included in those files was video footage of an Apache helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007, and many sensitive messages between US diplomats. 
 
 Manning twice attempted suicide last year at Fort Leavenworth, a male military prison. 
 
 She also went on a hunger strike last year, which she ended after the military agreed to provide her with gender transition treatment. ||||| : This is the official campaign raising funds for Chelsea Manning. This campaign is being organized by her friends and family. I have known Chelsea as her attorney, advocate and friend for several years. The money will be deposited directly into her bank account, which is being managed by her current power of attorney. Upon her release on May 17th, she will have full control over all funds donated.*Chelsea Manning is a 29 year-old transgender woman and long-time leader in the LGBT community. She is a transparency activist, Guardian columnist, whistleblower and she is our close friend and family member.For the past seven years, Chelsea has been incarcerated. She survived solitary confinement, systemic denial of health care and years of being separated from her friends and community. Through it all she has remained a steadfast voice for liberty and justice and an inspiration to so many. We now have a chance to show our appreciation for all that she has given us.Following the commutation of her 35 year sentence, Chelsea will head home to Maryland on May 17, 2017 and we, her closest friends and family, are raising money to meet her survival needs.The majority of Chelsea’s adult life has been spent under the control of powerful institutions. Upon her release she will need logistical, emotional, and financial support to safely transition into the free world. For the first time in her life, Chelsea will have the opportunity to live freely as her authentic self, to grow her hair, engage with her friends, and build her own networks of love and support. We want her to have the tools to do that and to overcome the years of abuse she has experience in custody.Funds raised will be used to pay for Chelsea’s rent, utilities, health care, clothing and other living expenses for the first year after she is released.If you are interested in offering an in-kind donation or other support, please e-mail: CMreleaseneeds@gmail.com To learn more about Chelsea, check out her Twitter and Medium pages and her website (We have been receiving a lot of complaints about these photos. Please note that these are recent photos that Chelsea has chosen and which she also uses on her verified Twitter account. Nothing has been done without her guidance and approval. She prefers these photos. They capture the reality of her prison life. She is forced to keep her hair short - a source of pain and trauma that we have been fighting in court for years. But she wants that to be visible and documented. Stay tuned for her self-determined and created images once she is released.)
– Chelsea Manning is no longer a federal prisoner. The 29-year-old was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas early Wednesday, report NBC News and the BBC. Manning, whose 35-year sentence for leaking classified documents was commuted by former President Obama, is expected to move back to Maryland. "She's ready to finally be able to live as the woman that she is," says attorney Nancy Hollander of her transgender client. Earlier, USA Today reported that Manning would remain an active-duty, though unpaid, US soldier and thus be eligible for health benefits. Backers have so far raised more than $150,000 for her on GoFundMe. (Even her legal team was surprised that the plea for commutation worked.)