Three years and dozens of court hearings later, Pfc. Bradley Manning was found not guilty Tuesday of the most serious charge of “aiding the enemy” for leaking classified documents.
While he was acquitted of that charge, Manning was found guilty on five counts of violating the espionage act, in addition to five counts of theft.
If found guilty of aiding the enemy, Manning could have been sentenced to life in prison. The other convictions could still potentially keep Manning in prison for more than 100 years.
Sentencing was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to ABC News.
The former Army intelligence analyst has already pleaded guilty to nearly a dozen lesser charges that carry a sentence of up to 20 years behind bars.
Manning, 25, claims he gave more than 700,000 classified documents to Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks site in 2010 to spark a foreign policy debate and show the public how America was fighting its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” he testified in February. “I felt I accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.”
Prosecutors have argued Manning is a traitor, pointing to evidence showing some of the documents he leaked ended up in the hands of Osama bin Laden.
More than two dozen supporters awaited the verdict outside the court in Fort Meade, Maryland
“We are very proud of Bradley,” read one sign.
A rally in support of Manning was planned Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.
This article originally was published at Global Post.