Who is Reality Winner, the sentenced NSA leaker?

When a young National Security Agency contractor was arrested by the FBI at her Augusta home in June 2017, it brought on an impassioned debate over leaking.

The debate came to a resolution of sorts on Thursday. Reality Leigh Winner, 26, was sentenced to five years and three months behind bars for leaking a top-secret government report about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Related: Federal contractor arrested for leaking ‘top secret’ Russia document

"I sincerely apologize and take full responsibility for my actions," the former National Security Agency contractor told Chief U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall in a federal court in Augusta. "In particular, I want to apologize to my family."

Credit: Michael Holahan

Credit: Michael Holahan

Winner could have faced up to 10 years in prison had she not cut a plea deal with prosecutors. Winner was charged in June 2017 with leaking a top-secret report to the web site The Intercept. Winner’s arrest was announced about an hour after The Intercept reported it had received a top-secret government report about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

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Here's what else is known about Winner:

She's a Texas girl. Winner was raised in Kingsville, Texas, near Corpus Christi. Her mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told The Guardian newspaper Reality has one sister, who is studying for a Ph.D. in pharmacology.

Related: Documents, computers seized from home of accused NSA contractor

She was driven to succeed at a young age. As previously reported, Winner taught herself Arabic in high school and was a competitive athlete. "I remember she had a lot of court tantrums when she was losing," Juan Carlos Gonzalez, who was on the H.M. King High School tennis team with Winner, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

She's an Air Force veteran who reportedly speaks four languages. Winner spent six years in the Air Force, where she studied languages and worked as a linguist. According to her mother, speaks Farsi, Pashto and Dari.

Related: Owner of The Intercept media outlet assisting accused NSA leaker Reality Winner’s legal defense

She’d only been on the Georgia job about four months when she was arrested.

After the Air Force, Winner became a contractor at Pluribus International Corp. The company has over 20 locations around the world, including one at Fort Gordon. Winner was assigned to a U.S. government facility in Georgia starting on February 13, 2017 and had top-secret security clearance.

She’s an animal lover and an athlete.

A high school tennis player turned CrossFit enthusiast, Winner frequently shared videos of herself working out on her Facebook page, as well as photos from her travels. Her mom says she loves animals; when Reality contacted Billie after her arrest, she reportedly asked her for help on relocating her dog and cat during her absence.

Related: Alleged NSA leaker met with Purdue staff months before arrest

As Sara Winners, she's actively expressed her views on Twitter.

Her mother says Reality wasn't particularly political and hadn't ever expressed admiration for Edward Snowden and other leakers. Yet "Sara Winners" acted otherwise on social media, according to a June 2017 story from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Her feeds show forceful views on climate change, refugees, the war in Syria and her distinct dislike of Trump and his policies. She also showed support for the citizens of one of the nation’s top adversaries.”

Her stepfather says she's not the person the world suddenly thinks it knows: The depiction of Winner through social media is not an "an accurate portrayal of my daughter," Gary Davis, Winner's stepfather, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She's a veteran, six years' service of the Air Force. She received commendations during that time. She's just a passionate young woman who probably made some mistakes."

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