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American Taliban fighter arrives in U.S.

Click to see selected scenes from John Walker's arrival on U.S. soil.

(CNN) -- John Walker, the American accused of joining al Qaeda and fighting with them in Afghanistan, arrived in the United States Wednesday under FBI custody to face charges he conspired to kill Americans.

Walker, 20, arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport at 6:05 p.m. ET aboard a KC-10 cargo plane and was taken away by a U.S. Park Police helicopter to a detention facility in northern Virginia, a U.S. government source said.

Less than an hour later, Walker got off the helicopter, his hands and feet shackled, his head shaved, and shuffled under heavily armed escort to an awaiting sports utility vehicle that whisked him away.

He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Curtis Sewell at 9 a.m. ET Thursday to hear the charges read against him.

Walker faces four criminal counts, including engaging in a conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals abroad and providing material support to terrorists. He could face life imprisonment if convicted. (Full story)

The criminal complaint, which refers to him as John Walker Lindh, alleges he learned this past summer from one of his instructors at a terrorist training camp that Osama bin Laden "had sent people to the United States to carry out several suicide operations."

The complaint also alleges Walker received personal thanks from bin Laden for "taking part in jihad."

Walker's parents went to the detention center to see their son but were told they would have to wait until Thursday.

"We're a little disappointed, but the guards did tell us that John was in good health and we're very glad to hear that," said Frank Lindh, Walker's father.

DOCUMENTS Read the charges against Walker  (FindLaw) (PDF)   QUICKVOTE Should John Walker's parents have been allowed to see their son? Yes No View Results    CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

Earlier Wednesday, the family received a letter from their son dated January 8, said James Brosnahan, the family's attorney.

"It is comforting to know that you have found a lawyer," Walker said in the letter.

Walker was expected to be housed at the Alexandria Detention Center because there is no similar federal facility in northern Virginia.

The same facility near the courthouse holds Zacarias Moussaoui, the first suspect charged in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Latest developments

• Pentagon officials said Wednesday the transfer of detainees to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was being suspended because of logistical concerns, specifically a lack of space and the need to build additional cells and other facilities. There was no word on when the transfers might resume. There are 158 detainees at the base and 270 in U.S. custody in Afghanistan. (Full story)

• FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday that information obtained through the questioning of detainees in Afghanistan has helped stop additional terrorist attacks against U.S. interests. Mueller made his comments during a visit to a U.S. base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He did not give any details. (Full story)

• Six Afghans injured in December while fighting alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan were receiving treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday. The Afghans, who were hurt in a friendly fire incident, were in stable condition. (Full story)

• President Bush signed legislation Wednesday waiving 2 years of income taxes for families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and last fall's anthrax attacks. In addition, families of the victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing will receive tax refunds.

• Federal authorities Wednesday doubled to $2.5 million the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for a series of anthrax-laced letters that passed through the U.S. mail system in the fall. Five people died of inhalation anthrax, but no suspects have been identified or arrested. (Full story)

• The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy's departure for duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom has been delayed due to mechanical problems, U.S. Navy officials said Wednesday. The 33-year-old carrier was to have departed its homeport of Mayport, Florida, in in mid-mid-January to support combat operations in Afghanistan. Now its departure date is uncertain, officials said.

• Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta gave the U.S. Conference of Mayors a glowing report Wednesday on his agency's progress in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks. Mineta assured the mayors that the Bush administration was on track and committed to ensuring the safety and security of America's cities.

• A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday that its delegates had privacy as they met with detainees at Guantanamo Bay and indicated the captives were not shackled during the interviews and were able to shake hands. (Full story)

• A federal judge in Los Angeles, California, has asked attorneys for both sides to file additional briefs on whether his court has jurisdiction in a lawsuit challenging issues surrounding the U.S. military's detention of Afghan war captives at Guantanamo. The petition asks that the prisoners be told the charges against them and seeks to prevent the military from transferring any more captives to the base. (Full story)

• Thailand has joined a string of other Southeast Asian countries on terror alert after receiving intelligence of possible al Qaeda attacks in the country. This coincided with several arrests in recent weeks in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines of suspected Muslim militants with links to the terrorist network. (Full story)

• The once-daunting job of whittling away at the World Trade Center's ruins was supposed to take a year and run as much as $7 billion, but workers now expect to remove the last of the rubble by summer at a cost estimated to be closer to $1 billion.

• The U.S. military, in a policy reversal, will no longer require servicewomen in Saudi Arabia to wear Muslim-style head-to-toe robes when venturing off base. Instead, wearing the robe, known as an abaya, "is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged," according to an order by Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, e-mailed to commanders in the region. (Full story)

• Indonesian police have summoned for questioning militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, whom Singapore and Malaysia suspect has links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and with terrorist groups in the region. "He is being summoned for this Thursday," national police spokesman Saleh Saaf told Reuters.