Former whistleblower pictured at party thrown by conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, but she insists it was purely for intelligence gathering

Chelsea Manning, the former whistleblower who is now running for the US Senate, is defending herself against accusations that she has forged links with the far right after she appeared at a pro-Trump party thrown by notorious conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich.

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In a tweet posted on Monday, Manning attempted to calm a storm of criticism that erupted after she was spotted at the Saturday event, dubbed “A Night for Freedom”, in New York. She insisted that her decision to turn up at the celebration of Donald Trump’s first year in the White House was an act of intelligence gathering designed to thwart what she called “fascists/alt-right”.

“I took an opportunity to gather intel on them b/c the ideology they peddle threatens everybody,” the tweet said.

Whether Manning has said enough to staunch the critical questions on social media remains to be seen. Her tweet made no mention of a photograph that was posted over the weekend that shows her crouching and smiling as part of a group shot that includes far-right activists and conspiracy theorists.

The Guardian has confirmed that the photograph is genuine. Alongside Manning in the group photo were Jack Posobiec who, like Cernovich, was a prime mover of the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory that wrongly accused senior Democratic figures of running a child sex ring.

Also present was Cassandra Fairbanks, a former Bernie Sanders supporter who switched sides and has become a forceful advocate for Trump. Fairbanks, who now works for the Gateway Pundit, a site that regularly disseminates rightwing conspiracy theories, would not comment on the photograph or her connection, if any, to Manning.

But she did tell the Guardian that she was “very pleased that everyone treated [Manning] respectfully” at the Cernovich pro-Trump event. On Manning herself, Fairbanks added: “Her being brave enough to go to an event attended by many who oppose what she did and show her face without any fear could certainly be considered an act of protest.”

Any link between Manning and Fairbanks is especially fraught as Fairbanks has been a leading cheerleader for the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, even after he was accused by US intelligence agencies of acting as a conduit for Democratic emails hacked by the Russian government. Manning leaked her vast trove of state secrets in 2010 to WikiLeaks, but since then has disassociated herself from Assange.

In her first interview since declaring that she was running for the US Senate seat in her home state of Maryland last week, Manning told the Guardian that she had not been in touch with Assange since the leak.

An associate of Manning’s told the Guardian that her appearance in the group photograph was all part of her same efforts to “gather intel” on the alt-right. In her tweet, she said: “Fascists/alt-right deserve no platform. We stand opposed to them.”

As a further plot twist, the activist and co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March, Linda Sarsour, confirmed to the Guardian that she had received a call from Manning in which the former soldier expressed “extreme regret” over her decision to attend Cernovich’s party and “admitted it was very bad judgment”, as first reported by BuzzFeed.

Cernovich is a leading member of the so-called “Deplorables” who celebrate their support for Trump by appropriating Hillary Clinton’s description of his base as a “basket of deplorables”. After his party on Saturday he tweeted: “Yes, I literally shook hands with Chelsea Manning.”

Several supporters of Manning expressed disappointment. One trans woman posting under the handle “Muffin” said: “What were you thinking putting yourself in the position you did? Do you understand how the situation reads to the people who agree with you and trusted you?”

Other prominent commentators leapt to Manning’s defense. Glenn Greenwald, the Intercept columnist, said it was legitimate to ask questions but not to suggest that she was politically alligned with the alt-right.