John Walker Lindh, the captured Islamic militant who at age 20 journeyed to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and fought alongside the terrorists in the days after 9/11, was released from a U.S. federal prison in Indiana on Thursday — despite lawmakers’ concerns about the “security and safety implications” of freeing an unrepentant terrorist who officials say continues to “openly call for extremist violence.”
Lindh, dubbed the “American Taliban,” had been serving his sentence at the Terre Haute, Indiana facility. He was discharged several years before completing the 20-year prison sentence he received for joining and supporting the Taliban, with officials citing “good behavior” for the early release. The former Islamist fighter and enemy combatant, named “Detainee 001 in the war on terror,” was captured alongside a group of Taliban fighters in 2001, just months after the Sept. 11 attacks and the start of the war in Afghanistan.
Conservative Commentator Steve Deace Nails the Most Infuriating Part About Democrats’ Midterm Triumph: It Was Preventable
Midterm upheaval of Congress provides little reassurance for Ukraine as ‘nucleus’ of support is ousted or steps down
Latest Numbers: ‘Decoy’ Candidate Could Cost Republicans a Senate Seat as Alaska Race Comes Down to the Wire
Florida congressman diagnoses GOP’s blue tsunami losses: ‘We failed to make them think we cared about them’
Vance courting disgruntled Trump voters to form ‘new right’ alliance after Republican bloodbath, sources say
Star Fox News Reporter Explains How One Midterm Result in Particular Sets the Stage for an Unprecedented Border Disaster
NYC’s Mamdani says Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate victory in Michigan ‘means so much to so many’
Trump ‘couldn’t transfer the love’ of his supporters to other Republicans amid historic midterm loss
Helicopter crash near Miami leaves at least 1 dead, 2 injured: report
Armed security guard hailed as hero after fatally shooting gunman at massive Tampa Citibank site
El Sayed celebrates ‘delicious irony’ that ‘habibi’ Vance has to swear him in: ‘Call me senator’
Rep. Jim Jordan Launches Bid to Become House Minority Leader: Report
Breaking: Mike Johnson Bows Out as House Republican Leader
Majority of Americans broadly reject socialist ideology even as far left surges to power
Democrats seize majority of governors’ offices in election-night shift
“We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh, who continue to openly call for extremist violence,” Sens. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., wrote in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons late last week that was obtained by the Washington Post.
In the letter, the lawmakers reportedly sought details on how the agency is working to prevent prisoners such as Lindh from committing additional crimes after their release. They also asked which other “terrorist offenders” are next in line to be freed and how the Federal Bureau of Prisons determines whether or not someone is an “ongoing public threat.”
Conservative Commentator Steve Deace Nails the Most Infuriating Part About Democrats’ Midterm Triumph: It Was Preventable
Midterm upheaval of Congress provides little reassurance for Ukraine as ‘nucleus’ of support is ousted or steps down
Latest Numbers: ‘Decoy’ Candidate Could Cost Republicans a Senate Seat as Alaska Race Comes Down to the Wire
Florida congressman diagnoses GOP’s blue tsunami losses: ‘We failed to make them think we cared about them’
Vance courting disgruntled Trump voters to form ‘new right’ alliance after Republican bloodbath, sources say
Star Fox News Reporter Explains How One Midterm Result in Particular Sets the Stage for an Unprecedented Border Disaster
NYC’s Mamdani says Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate victory in Michigan ‘means so much to so many’
Trump ‘couldn’t transfer the love’ of his supporters to other Republicans amid historic midterm loss
Helicopter crash near Miami leaves at least 1 dead, 2 injured: report
Armed security guard hailed as hero after fatally shooting gunman at massive Tampa Citibank site
El Sayed celebrates ‘delicious irony’ that ‘habibi’ Vance has to swear him in: ‘Call me senator’
Rep. Jim Jordan Launches Bid to Become House Minority Leader: Report
Breaking: Mike Johnson Bows Out as House Republican Leader
Majority of Americans broadly reject socialist ideology even as far left surges to power
Democrats seize majority of governors’ offices in election-night shift
Lindh has been blamed for playing a role in the death of Johnny “Mike” Spann, a U.S Marine turned CIA paramilitary operative who became the first American to be killed in combat in Afghanistan, amid the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Spann’s daughter, Allison, told Fox News in March that Lindh’s early release “feels like such a slap in the face.”
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
Story cited here.
