American Citizen Saad Almadi Freed After Four Years Trapped in Saudi Arabia – Trump Secures Release During High-Stakes MBS Visit

A 75-year-old Florida man held in Saudi Arabia for more than four years over critical tweets has finally returned home, in a dramatic diplomatic victory credited directly to President Donald Trump.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen and retired project manager from Boca Raton, landed at a Florida airport Wednesday evening after Saudi authorities abruptly lifted a travel ban just hours after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) concluded a two-day visit to the White House.

The breakthrough came on Tuesday, November 19, when Almadi was informed his exit ban, in place since early 2023, had been removed. He boarded a commercial flight from Riyadh less than 24 hours later, ending a nightmare that began in November 2021 when he was arrested during a family visit over 14 tweets criticizing the Saudi government.

“Today is a day of overwhelming gratitude,” Almadi’s son, Ibrahim Almadi, said in a statement. “This day would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the tireless efforts of his administration.”

The family singled out National Security Advisor Dr. Sebastian Gorka and the National Security Council team for their relentless work, adding, “We are forever thankful to everyone who fought for my father’s freedom.”

Almadi’s case had become a rallying cry for human rights groups and bipartisan lawmakers. He was sentenced in 2022 to 19 years in prison on charges that included “supporting terrorism” and “destabilizing the kingdom,” based solely on social media posts that mentioned poverty in Saudi Arabia, the destruction of historic neighborhoods in Jeddah, and a suggestion to rename a Washington street after slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Though released from prison in 2023 after intense U.S. pressure, Saudi authorities kept him under effective house arrest and barred him from leaving the country, a common tactic used against dual nationals.

President Trump first publicly committed to the case during his May 2025 visit to Riyadh, telling reporters after a question about Almadi, “We’re going to take a look at that. I’ll get him home.”

Six months later, that promise was fulfilled at the highest level. On November 18, Trump welcomed MBS to the Oval Office in a lavish display of renewed U.S.-Saudi partnership. The two leaders announced more than $600 billion in new Saudi investments in the United States and progress toward selling F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom.

When pressed by reporters about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Trump brushed aside the question, calling MBS “a great friend” and saying Khashoggi was “an extremely controversial figure.”

The very next morning, as Trump and MBS appeared together at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum at the Mayflower Hotel, Saudi officials quietly informed the Almadi family that the travel ban was lifted.

The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for wrongfully detained Americans, hailed the outcome as “a long and hard-fought victory,” while noting the case highlights the risks dual citizens face when exercising free speech in authoritarian countries.

On social media, supporters of President Trump celebrated the release as another example of his personal diplomacy delivering results. “Another American comes home because Donald Trump made a call. No endless task forces, no lectures, just results,” wrote conservative commentator Mark Levin.

Almadi’s return marks at least the 40th American freed from overseas detention during Trump’s second term, following high-profile releases from Venezuela, Russia, Afghanistan, Belarus, and earlier this year, 24 U.S. citizens from Kuwait.

As of Wednesday night, Saad Almadi was back on American soil, reuniting with his family in Florida after 1,465 days separated by a handful of tweets and a kingdom’s wrath.

The White House has not officially commented on the release, but sources close to the administration say President Trump personally raised Almadi’s name with MBS multiple times during their meetings this week.

For one American family, four years of anguish ended with a single flight home, and a president who promised he would “get him back.”