Jeff Woodke and his wife, Els, accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of misleading Els on the nature of ransom demands while Jeff was held hostage by Islamic extremists.
Woodke was held hostage for six years.
Els Woodke and private investigator Robert Klamser alleged that the FBI misled them about how much the terrorist group demanded, learning later that the terrorists demanded 3 million euros, or $3.3 million, along with the release of prisoners held in Western African jails.
The extremists later increased the ransom demand to 6 million euros, $6.5 million, and dropped the prisoner release demand.
Els Woodke claimed the FBI did not assure her that parties involved in raising the ransom money would not be prosecuted.
“I said, if it was you that had been kidnapped, you would be free in a week because your wife is free to take from your money and buy you free,” Els Woodke remembered telling Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“So because you are rich, you can pay the ransom. But a poor person is never able to do that,” she said.
Reporting from The Daily Wire:
“It was hell. I think the hardest part was knowing that my family, if they were alive, they were suffering too,” Woodke said. Throughout the course of his captivity, the missionary — who worked with U.S. non-profit Youth With A Mission — was placed in chains, subjected to beatings, and pressured to convert to Islam. ... Woodke was released along with a French journalist on March 20, and the White House has never fully explained how it got the American missionary home. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Woodke’s return to the U.S. was the result of “hard, grueling, deliberate work.”
