Washington ( CNN ) -- A former U.S. soldier accused of fighting with terrorists against Syrian forces pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was released from custody . Eric Harroun was sentenced to time served by a federal judge in Alexandria , Virginia , on Thursday . Court documents showed he pleaded guilty to an export charge involving conspiracy to transfer defense articles and services . The Phoenix man entered into a plea agreement with the government which remains under seal . Harroun was arrested in March and charged with conspiring to use a rocket propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusra Front , an alias name for the terrorist group al Qaeda in Iraq . If convicted of that charge , he faced a possible sentence of 30 years to life . Harroun allegedly posted videos on the Internet showing him with weapons . At a court hearing the next month , a federal prosecutor took the unusual step of revealing Harroun had been on a `` no-fly '' list and had been removed so he could fly from Turkey to the United States where he was arrested . This allowed U.S. authorities to take custody of Harroun without asking Turkey to arrest him and hand him over . The prosecutor did not say how long Harroun had been on the `` no fly '' list or whether he was aware of it . FBI agents observed him during the flight although he was not taken into custody until after he arrived in the United States . It 's also not clear whether Harroun 's name is back on the list . According to an FBI affidavit made public at the time of his arrest , Harroun crossed into Syria in January where he received training from the al-Nusra Front on how to use rocket propelled grenades and posted still photos and videos of himself on the Internet handling the RPGs and other weapons . The FBI interviewed him three times in Istanbul about his activities before he flew to the United States . The case appeared to present the United States with a thorny problem -- Harroun allegedly was fighting against the Syrian government which the United States also opposes . But the United States considers the al-Nusra Front a terrorist group . At the April hearing , federal public defender Geremy Kamens noted an FBI agent who testified said there was no evidence Harroun was involved in any terrorist activities . Harroun served in the Army from 2000 to 2003 .
Eric Harroun initially charged with fighting alongside group affiliated with al Qaeda . He allegedly posted videos on the Web showing him with weapons . Comment: Harroun , who is from Phoenix , released from custody after being sentenced to time served .