Last year, 64-year-old American Dennis Coyle was abducted from his Kabul apartment and held captive by the Taliban in horrid conditions. Coyle, an academic from Colorado, had been in the country for almost 20 years, doing research on languages and supporting local communities.
After more than a year in Taliban custody, 64-year-old US citizen Dennis Coyle is finally free and on his way home to the United States. 🇺🇸
— Arkadalo ® (@Arkadalo) March 24, 2026
The Colorado academic, who had spent nearly two decades in Afghanistan doing language research and supporting local communities, was… pic.twitter.com/Z5nE1qSJ7o
Since that time, the American government has been working to bring Coyle home, including President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declared Afghanistan a state-sponsor of wrongful detention and called for Coyle's earlier this month.
Today, I am designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. The Taliban continue to use terrorist tactics to seek policy concessions, but it won’t work under this administration. The Taliban must release Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, and all Americans unjustly…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 9, 2026
Molly Long, Coyle's sister, called the ordeal "an incredible whirlwind."
Molly Long is the sister of 64-year-old Dennis Coyle. Dennis was abducted from his Kabul apartment last year and has been held captive in horrid conditions by the Taliban since. Molly joined @KatiePavlich to discuss her recent meeting with @SecRubio and revealed positive news 👀 pic.twitter.com/PQpFMeubuQ
— Katie Pavlich Tonight (@KatiePavlichNN) March 13, 2026
"I really felt he heard what was going on," Long said of Rubio.
"I feel like it's a huge success," Long said of the state sponsor of wrongful detention designation. "[President Trump] has made it clear that bringing Americans home is his number one priority. He's made it clear that taking Americans hostage is unacceptable. We've seen that play out everywhere, and our family feels extremely confident in the President that he will bring Dennis home."
On February 17, Congressman Abe Hamadeh, in a column for Townhall, also called for Coyle's release.
The Trump Administration has shown that peace through strength works. Serious diplomacy backed by leverage works. Hostage takers and rogue actors respond when the United States demonstrates that there is a real price to pay for holding our citizens. That's why I cosponsored numerous bills, such as the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act. This approach must continue, and it must intensify until Dennis Coyle is on a plane home to his family in Arizona.
This is not partisan. Every member of Congress should stand behind a simple demand: release Dennis Coyle now. Send him home to his mother and sisters in Arizona.
I am calling on all relevant agencies and international partners to make this case an immediate priority.
To those holding Dennis: We know who you are. America is watching. I will not rest until he is home. We will say his name and not allow his case to fade into silence. Keeping an American citizen from his family is not leverage. It is injustice.
To the Coyle family, I want you to know that you are not alone. I will continue to raise Dennis's case publicly and privately. I will continue to press for action. I will continue to keep my promise to you.
America does not abandon its people. Not in Syria's deserts. Not in Gaza's dark tunnels. Not in prisons in Kabul. Not in foreign hands. We bring them home. Dennis Coyle must be returned to his family immediately. Nothing less is acceptable.
Today, Coyle was released from captivity.
JUST IN EXCLUSIVE: The first photo of American Dennis Coyle as a free man.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 24, 2026
President Trump said during our @NewsNation interview on January 20, 2026 that he would work to get Dennis released. He directed his team to get it done and two months later, Dennis is coming home.
🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/SwTC4ddXvW
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Tuesday released American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul, the country’s capital, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s Supreme Court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient.”
Coyle was detained in January 2025 on allegations of violating laws, although Afghan authorities never publicly stated what laws he was accused of having violated.
In a separate statement, the ministry indicated the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had helped mediate Coyle’s release, and said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had met in Kabul with former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad ahead of the release.
Congressman Hamadeh's office issued the following statement to Townhall:
“Dennis Coyle is not a headline or a bargaining chip. He is a son, a brother, and an uncle. I promised his family I would use every tool I have to bring him home and now he's on his way home. America First means no Americans left behind. I’m grateful to President Trump and his diplomatic team for delivering on that promise and bringing Dennis home safely to his family.”