John Walker Lindh – the so-called “American Taliban” – has been released from prison, a move Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared “unconscionable”.
Lindh served 17 years of a 20-year sentence after he was captured in 2001 fighting in Afghanistan.
His early release has sparked fierce criticism, with many believing he still harbours extremist views.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mr Pompeo said it was “deeply troubling and wrong”.
Mr Lindh “still is threatening the United States of America” and was “still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in”, he said.
His lawyer Bill Cummings told CNN Lindh would now move from his prison in Indiana to Virginia and live under the direction of his probation officer.
Who is John Walker Lindh?
Born in Washington DC in 1981 and named after John Lennon, Lindh was raised a Catholic.
He dropped out of school and converted to Islam at the age of 16, moving to Yemen the next year to learn Arabic.
In 2000 he went to study in Pakistan and eventually travelled to Afghanistan in May 2001 to join the Taliban.
US forces captured and arrested Lindh shortly after the invasion of the country in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
“Had I realised then what I know now about the Taliban, I would never have joined them,” Lindh said during his sentencing…
