Sgt Bowe Bergdahl's hometown has abruptly cancelled plans for a welcome-home celebration, citing security concerns over the prospect of big crowds - both for and against the soldier.
The town of 8000 has been swamped with hate mail and angry calls over Bergdahl, whose release after five years of Taliban captivity in Afghanistan has touched off a debate over whether the 28-year-old should get a hero's welcome or be punished a deserter.
Meanwhile, the Taliban released a 17-minute video of his handover showing a thin, tense-looking Bergdahl being patted down for explosives by US forces before climbing aboard an American helicopter in the dusty Afghanistan desert.
Just before he was turned over, one of his Taliban captors leaned in and warned him: "Don't come back to Afghanistan. You won't make it out alive next time." His captors waved goodbye as he was led away.
In Hailey, organisers of a celebration that had been scheduled for June 28 issued a statement on Wednesday saying the town doesn't have the means to handle such an event, given the prospect of big crowds on both sides of the debate.
"If you had 10,000 people, 5000 on one side and 5000 on the other, then just due to the national attention, we don't know what to expect," police chief Jeff Gunter said.
The town has had an event called "Bring Bowe Back" for several years. When news broke over the weekend of Bergdahl's release in exchange for five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay, organisers had announced it would be a welcome-home party instead.
Hailey Chamber of Commerce president Jane Drussel said she and the organisation have gotten hate mail and calls from people lambasting the town and branding Bergdahl un-American and a traitor.
"The joy has all of a sudden become not so joyful," she said.
Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after walking away from his unit, unarmed, in 2009.
US legislators and others have also complained that congress should have been consulted about the prisoner exchange, that the deal will embolden the Taliban to snatch more American soldiers, and that the released Afghans will filter back to the battlefield.
In Washington, Rob Williams, the US national intelligence officer for South Asia, told the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday that four of the men are expected to resume activities with the Taliban, according to two senior congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The five include the former Taliban interior minister, who was described in a US case file leaked by WikiLeaks as having had close ties to Osama bin Laden; the Taliban's former deputy chief of intelligence; and a former member of a joint Taliban-al-Qaeda cell.
The video of Bergdahl after five years in captivity shows a well-choreographed release, which took place on Saturday in Khost province, near the Pakistani border.
Back in the US, Sue Martin, a friend of the Bergdahl family and owner of Zaney's Coffee Shop in Hailey, said Bergdahl's appearance in the video shocked her. She said he looked frail, tired and damaged.
Bergdahl was reported to be in stable condition at a military hospital in Germany.
President Barack Obama has defended the swap, citing a "sacred" obligation to not leave men and women in uniform behind.
Hoping to ease mounting criticism, officials from the State Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies briefed senators behind closed doors on Wednesday evening. They showed the lawmakers a 1 1/2-minute video provided by the Taliban that proved Bergdahl was alive and indicated to the administration that his deteriorating health required quick action.
"He didn't look good," said Republican senator Mark Kirk.
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