'He's got a lot of decompressing to do'

After spending Monday night in a jail cell on a two-inch mattress, Evan Liberty was able to stretch out in a king size bed at the Radisson in Harrisburg. (Courtesy photos)

MINORSVILLE, Pa. - Evan Liberty of Rochester had heard rumors he might be pardoned, but thought they were just that until prison guards at FCI Schuykill came to his cell on Tuesday afternoon and told him to "pack it up, you're out of here," Brian Liberty, his dad, said on Wednesday.

He walked out with just the clothes on his back and his Spanish language books.

Evan Liberty was pardoned by President Trump on Tuesday more than six years after being convicted on charges that he fired his weapon indiscriminately at civilians during a 2007 Baghdad firefight. More than a dozen innocent Iraqis were killed when Blackwater guards returned fire against insurgents dressed as Iraqi policemen at a traffic circle.

Even DOJ prosecutors, who argued during his trial that Evan Liberty and his comrades opened fire without provocation, later admitted in court the Raven 23 convoy was indeed fired upon, although they never admitted that at his trial.

One might think being released from a federal prison would be a lengthy, tedious process, but on Tuesday it happened swiftly, and within a few moments prison personnel drove the Spaulding High grad and decorated Marine 57 miles to the Radisson Hotel in Harrisburg where he checked into a room and called his family.

"I answered the phone and he said, 'Hey, it's me,'" said Brian Liberty of Rochester on Wednesday.

After six years behind bars, he was in a state of semi-shock, his dad added.

"He was kind of in a daze," he said. "I mean he went from sleeping on a two-inch mattress to a deluxe hotel bed. He told me there was a convenience store near the hotel, and he was thinking about walking over, but said he was a little nervous, because he hadn't been outside in a long time."

In fact, FCI Schuykill in Minorsville hadn't even allowed prisoners outdoors for months due to COVID.

Evan's attorney, Bill Coffield, met him at the hotel and they went out to get him some "real food," Brian Liberty said.

Evan's selection? A croissant with ham.

"He's got a lot of decompressing to do," his dad said, adding for now, he spending time in Pennsylvania with a former Blackwater comrade.