'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh freed, Trump tried to stop it

Lindh is an American who was captured in 2001 during the US invasion into Afghanistan.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A member of the Taliban holds a flag in Kabul, Afghanistan June 16, 2018. The writing on the flag reads: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah' (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMAD ISMAIL)
A member of the Taliban holds a flag in Kabul, Afghanistan June 16, 2018. The writing on the flag reads: 'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah'
(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMAD ISMAIL)
 John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," was released from an Indiana prison on Thursday. 
Lindh is an American who was captured in 2001 during the US invasion into Afghanistan. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he tried to prevent the release of Lindh, but there was no legal way to stop it, The New York Times reported. 
“The lawyers have gone through it with a fine tooth comb,” Trump said according to the Times. “If there was a way to break that, I would have broken it in two seconds.” He added that Lindh has not “given up his proclamation of terrorism.” 
Lindh was released on probation after serving 17 years of his 20-year sentence for supporting the Taliban. He captured the attention of America when photos of his capture were released with his shaggy hair and dirty face. He pleaded guilty shortly after the 9/11 attacks. 

A California native, Lindh was said to have converted to Islam at 16 and, according to Vox, said he joined the Taliban because, as he said, “my heart became attached to them.”