Who is Reality Winner? Sydney Sweeney to portray controversial NSA whistleblower on HBO's 'Reality'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sydney Sweeney will make her presence felt in the highly anticipated movie 'Reality', which is set to release on May 29 on HBO. The movie will feature a star-studded cast, including Sweeney, Marchant Davis, and Josh Hamilton, among others. The movie, which was first showcased during the Berlin International Film Festival, will document the journey of the famous whistleblower, Reality Winner.
Winner's story has drawn in fans over the years and has seemingly become a topic of debate all over the world. The 31-year-old was sentenced to the longest jail sentence for a whistleblower after she leaked documents pertaining to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. She was employed by the US Air Force and also as an NSA translator.
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Who is Reality Winner?
Winner was was born on December 4, 1991. She started working with the US Air Force in 2010 and achieved the rank of senior airman with the 94th Intelligence Squadron. She then trained for two years as a language and intelligence expert, being posted in St Meade, Maryland. She was tasked with listening in on the intercepted foreign language and providing intelligence. Learned in Persian and Dari, a variation of the Persian language used in Afghanistan, Winner was awarded the Air Force Commendation medal.
After being honorably discharged from the Air Force in November 2016, Winner looked for opportunities in Afghanistan in an attempt to use her Persian language skills and help locals. She later found a job with Pluribus International Corporation, a firm providing services under contract to the National Security Agency.
While translating documents from Persian pertaining to Iran’s Aerospace program, Winner, who was with Pluribus at the time, came across a classified document regarding Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential elections. She later told CBS '60 Minutes', after mailing the documents to The Intercept, that she thought Americans were being misled about Russia’s involvement in the presidential elections.
Why was Reality Winner arrested?
The 31-year-old was arrested on June 3, 2017, by the FBI, and the arrest was confirmed by the Department of Justice on June 5. Following her arrest, Winner stated, according to official interrogation documents, that she was not “trying to be a Snowden or anything.” The Intercept later revealed that the Russian military tried to hack their way into a US voting software supplier and send 100 spearphishing emails to more than 100 local election officials.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange also came out in support of Winner, whose back was against the wall for her deeds. According to an official release, she was charged with "removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet." She was also charged with "willful retention and transmission of national defense information" but pleaded not guilty, only to be denied bail. First Look, the parent company of The Intercept, funded her legal bills in order to support her fight.
On August 23, 2018, Winner was sentenced to five years and three months in jail. She told the judge that her actions were “a cruel betrayal” of her nation's trust in her, as per Navy Times. In June 2021, she was transferred from the prison to a transitional facility.