WASHINGTON — A former government contractor who was sentenced to federal prison time in the longest sentence imposed for leaks to the news media has been released to home confinement, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday.
The person says 29-year-old Reality Winner has been moved to home confinement and remains in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.
"I am thrilled to announce that Reality Winner has been released from prison. She is still in custody in the residential reentry process, but we are relieved and hopeful," Winner's attorney Alison Grinter Allen said in a statement.
Winner pleaded guilty in 2018 of a single count of transmitting national security information after she leaked information regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to the news media.
Winner, who had no prior criminal record, was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Prosecutors said at the time that her sentence was the longest ever imposed for leaking government information to the news media.