Adrian Lamo, the computer hacker who turned in whistleblower Chelsea Manning to law enforcement for giving thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, has died at the age of 37.
The cause of his death is unknown, but a coroner in Sedgwick County, Kansas, where Lamo lived, confirmed the news.
Lamo gained notoriety in the early 2000s when he was arrested and convicted of computer fraud for hacking several high-profile companies including Microsoft and The New York Times.
But he became infamous for his part in the prosecution of Manning, a former US army intelligence analyst who had befriended Lamo.
Lamo reported Manning to the US military after the transgender soldier, who was known as Bradley but now identifies as a woman, admitted leaking the trove of classified military documents.
It was the largest breach of its kind in US history, and included damaging videos like footage of a US airstrike killing Iraqi civilians.
Manning was arrested and sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013.
Her sentence was later commuted by President Barack Obama and she was released last year.
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Lamo's father, Mario, posted a brief tribute to his son on Facebook on Friday.
"With great sadness and a broken heart I have to let know all of Adrian's friends and acquittances that he is dead. A bright mind and compassionate soul is gone, he was my beloved son," he wrote.
Adrian Lamo, the computer hacker who turned in whistleblower Chelsea Manning to law enforcement for giving thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, has died at the age of 37.
The cause of his death is unknown, but a coroner in Sedgwick County, Kansas, where Lamo lived, confirmed the news.
Lamo gained notoriety in the early 2000s when he was arrested and convicted of computer fraud for hacking several high-profile companies including Microsoft and The New York Times.
But he became infamous for his part in the prosecution of Manning, a former US army intelligence analyst who had befriended Lamo.
Lamo reported Manning to the US military after the transgender soldier, who was known as Bradley but now identifies as a woman, admitted leaking the trove of classified military documents.
It was the largest breach of its kind in US history, and included damaging videos like footage of a US airstrike killing Iraqi civilians.
Manning was arrested and sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013.
Her sentence was later commuted by President Barack Obama and she was released last year.
More from US
Lamo's father, Mario, posted a brief tribute to his son on Facebook on Friday.
"With great sadness and a broken heart I have to let know all of Adrian's friends and acquittances that he is dead. A bright mind and compassionate soul is gone, he was my beloved son," he wrote.
