John Walker Lindh Wiki, Bio, Age, Wife, Kids, Parents, Family, Release, Religion, Net Worth, Height, Nationality, Irish Citizenship and Instagram

John Walker Lindh Biography – John Walker Lindh Wiki

John Walker Lindh born John Philip Walker Lindh, is an American convicted former foreign fighter for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He was captured in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in November 2001 and was transferred to the United States to stand trial on terrorism-related charges, including supplying services to the Taliban and carrying weapons while committing a crime. He was convicted in October 2002 and sentenced to 20 years in the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution in Indiana. He was released early for good behavior on May 23, 2019.

According to his testimony to the FBI, John Walker Lindh grew interested in Islam at age 12 after watching the movie “Malcolm X,” which depicted Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1997, at the age of 16, he converted to Islam and began attending a mosque in Mill Valley, California. He adopted the names Suleyman al-Lindh and Suleyman al-Faris. Lindh reportedly became involved with the Sunni missionary group Tablighi Jamaat, which encourages followers to live as the Islamic prophet Muhammad did while rejecting organizational Islam. At the time of Lindh’s capture, experts on the group called it apolitical and did not believe it acted as a bridge to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.* However, authorities have since investigated the group’s links to a number of radicalized militants.

Soon after converting to Islam, John Walker Lindh moved to Yemen to study Arabic and Islam. In October of 2000, he ventured to Pakistan where he enrolled in a madrassa, or an Islamic religious school. He then joined the Pakistani Harakat-ul Mujahedeen (HuM), a terrorist organization dedicated to wrenching Kashmir from Indian control and forming an Islamic state.

According to interrogation reports, John Walker Lindh crossed the Afghan border in July or August of 2001 to join the Taliban. In addition to fighting for the Taliban, Lindh also reportedly trained with al-Qaeda. According to his testimony to the FBI, Lindh spent seven weeks at al-Qaeda’s al-Farouq training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, beginning on June 1, 2001. Three of those weeks were devoted to weapons familiarization, one week to studying maps/topography, one to battlefield training, and one to explosives. According to the FBI, Lindh met al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who thanked him for “taking part in the Jihad.”

John Walker Lindh was deployed to the Taliban front lines following al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks against the United States. He was captured in Kunduz by the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in November of 2001, and was held prisoner in the Qala-e Janghi fortress outside Mazār-e Sharīf. After a prison uprising on November 25, Lindh was wounded in the thigh by shrapnel while Northern Alliance troops quelled the riot. On December 1, he was transferred to U.S. custody. The following day, Lindh gave an interview to CNN in which how his “heart became attached” to the Taliban’s cause while reading about the group in Pakistan. He affirmed his decision to wage jihad, calling it the right choice and “exactly what I thought it would be.” Lindh claimed he belonged to the Ansar (“Helpers”), a group of Arabic-speaking foreign fighters funded by bin Laden.

John Walker Lindh was held and interrogated at U.S. bases in Afghanistan for two weeks before he was transferred to a navy ship—the USS Peleliu—in the Arabian Sea. He was transported to the United States in January 2002, and charged with 10 counts, including conspiring to kill U.S. citizens and aiding a terrorist organization. Lindh’s lawyers claimed that he had been subjected to torture during his detention and interrogation in Afghanistan.

John Walker Lindh reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in July 2002. He agreed to plead guilty to charges of supplying services to the Taliban and carrying weapons while committing a crime. He also agreed to rescind his claims that he had been tortured while in custody. In return, prosecutors dropped the more severe charges of supporting terrorism and conspiring to kill U.S. citizens. In October 2002, Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Under the terms of his plea deal, Lindh provided the U.S. government with information on al-Qaeda and Taliban training camps and fighting in Afghanistan.

John Walker Lindh Release – John Walker Lindh Release Date

John Walker Lindh received an early release for good behavior on May 23, 2019, despite the NCTC assessment and objections from President Donald Trump and other government officials. Lindh is subject to three years of supervised release. He was not immediately subjected to restrictions against leaving the country, though he is forbidden from holding a passport. Lindh reportedly refused to sign a document guaranteeing he would not make a pilgrimage to Mecca. In addition to required meetings with a parole officer and mental health counseling, Lindh is forbidden from unmonitored Internet usage, using any language online except English without prior approval, and communication with known extremists.

John Walker Lindh Age

He was born on February 9, 1981 in Washington, D.C., United States as John Philip Walker Lindh.

John Walker Lindh Parents

John Walker Lindh’s parents are Marilyn Walker and Frank R. Lindh.

John Walker Lindh Family

Lindh was born to Marilyn Walker and Frank R. Lindh, as the middle of three children in the family.

John Walker Lindh Education

John Walker Lindh enrolled at Redwood High School as a freshman. He then transferred to Tamiscal High School in the Tamalpais Union High School District, an alternative school offering self-directed, individualized study programs. While there, he studied world culture, including Sunni Islam and the Middle East. Lindh dropped out of the school and eventually earned an equivalent of a high school diploma by passing the California High School Proficiency Exam at age 16.

John Walker Lindh Nationality

US-born John Walker Lindh obtained Irish nationality in 2013 while in prison through his father’s mother, who was born in Donegal.

John Walker Lindh Religion

He was baptized a Catholic. In 1997, at the age of 16, Lindh formally converted to Islam.

John Walker Lindh Irish Citizenship – John Walker Lindh Ireland

Lindh obtained Irish citizenship in 2013 by citing his paternal grandmother’s birth in the country. His grandmother was born in Donegal.