By Barbara Liston
ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Casey Anthony, a Florida woman found not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, was released from a Florida jail early on Sunday.
Witnesses saw Anthony, who had been acquitted on July 5 of culpability in Caylee's death, exit the jail and step into one of two waiting vehicles a few minutes after midnight. The Orange County Jail later confirmed her release.
A crowd of 300 had been waiting since midafternoon Saturday for Anthony's release, and many rushed into the street trying to follow the car as she was driven away, briefly blocking the eastbound lanes of a six-lane road before police cleared them away.
A large police presence included the sheriff's mobile command centre, five horse-mounted officers and at least 20 uniformed officers on foot, many wearing bullet-proof vests. Three news helicopters hovered overhead.
Since her acquittal, Anthony's future has been the subject of much speculation, but with no publicly known facts beyond her jail departure date.
Lori Richards, 54, of Daytona Beach and three friends set up a tent at 3 p.m (8:00 p.m. British time) where they huddled through a brief lightning storm.
"We're here to support Caylee and we want them (the public) to boycott anything Casey or any of the Anthonys do," Richards said.
Many in the crowd at the jail came with signs for and against Casey Anthony, and some chanted Caylee's name.
Casey Anthony's release had been planned with the same precision that marked her high-profile murder trial followed by audiences around the world.
In recognition of the massive media coverage expected of the release, media representatives and jail managers negotiated a plan which, much like modern war coverage, allowed embedded pool reporters and photographers to document her departure from inside the jail facility.
Anthony's trial revealed gruesome details of Caylee's death and the disposal of the toddler's remains in trash bags in swampy woods. The trial brought out evidence of Casey Anthony relishing her life, partying and shopping, after Caylee died.
Casey Anthony's parents and brother had testified at the widely telecast trial.
Casey Anthony's lawyer Jose Baez acknowledged her outward lack of emotion over the death was "bizarre."
Her acquittal was met with shock and derision by much of the public, egged on by outraged television commentary.
Charles Greene, Anthony's defence lawyer in a related civil defamation lawsuit, told a judge on Friday that he had received seven threats against her that day.
(Editing by Jerry Norton and Philip Barbara)
