U.S. forces captured Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, a California-born man named the "American Taliban" in the Afghanistan invasion in 2001, just months after the September 11 terror attacks. He is reportedly responsible for the murder of CIA paramilitary officer Johnny “Mike” Spann. Spann had been questioning Lindh at a prison, when his fellow prisoners staged a bloody revolt. Now, at age 38, Lindh is being released from federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana after serving 17 years of his 20-year sentence. He's reportedly earned his freedom due to "good behavior" and will be on probation for three years.
The conditions of Lindh's release require he undergo mental health counseling and refrain from using certain technology. He will also be banned from traveling outside the U.S. without the court's consent.
Yet, according to the National Counterterrorism Center, Lindh continued his terrorist ways for some time.
“As of May 2016, John Walker Lindh (USPER) — who is scheduled to be released in May 2019 after being convicted of supporting the Taliban — continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts.”
He has also failed to renounce his terrorist ideology.
Spann's daughter Alison was only nine when her father became the first American to be killed in combat in Afghanistan. In March she appealed to President Trump to keep Lindh behind bars, and on Tuesday she re-shared the letter.
I wrote this letter to @POTUS asking that the early release of John Walker Lindh be stopped. He’s going to be released on May 23, despite reports that he has continued to “advocate for global jihad.” This is not a reformed prisoner... pic.twitter.com/HVOryefVIE
— Alison Spann (@newsgirlalison) May 21, 2019
"I feel his early release is a slap in the face - not only to my father and my family, but for every person killed on September 11th, their families, the U.S. military, U.S. intelligence services, families who have lost loved ones to this war and the millions of Muslims worldwide who don't support radical extremists," Spann wrote.