A 22-year-old former army soldier has pleaded guilty to helping ISIS attack and kill US soldiers in the Middle East.
Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, aka Cole Gonzales, faces 40 years in prison for “attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization” and “attempting to assassinate U.S. military personnel.”
Bridges, who was arrested in January 2021, pleaded guilty to U.S. District Judge Lewis J Liman on Wednesday.
The active-duty soldier was arrested in Georgia after talking to an undercover FBI agent he believed to be a member of ISIS online about plots to blow up New York City’s 9/11 Memorial and kill military personnel in the Middle East. attack east.
US Attorney Damian Williams said Wednesday: “As he admitted in court today, Cole Bridges attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his fellow soldiers in the service of ISIS and its violent ideology.”
Cole James Bridges, 22, aka Cole Gonzales, pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping ISIS attack and kill US soldiers in the Middle East (pictured above)
According to the complaint, Bridges began investigating online propaganda promoting jihadists just months after joining the US military in 2019
Bridges reportedly provided the fake ISIS contact with detailed instructions on tactics and guides and advice on how to attack the 9/11 Memorial in New York City
Williams called Bridges’s actions a betrayal of his country and thanked prosecutors and the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Bridges’ treacherous behavior was a betrayal of his comrades and his country. Thanks to the incredible work of this agency’s prosecutors and our partners in the FBI and the US military, Bridges’ malicious intent was revealed and he now awaits sentencing for his crimes, he added.
Bridges was charged with attempted material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and attempted murder of US military personnel, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
A message reportedly sent to the undercover agent by Bridges showed a flag commonly used by ISIS fighters
Bridges joined the United States Army in September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout at Fort Stewart.
Before his arrest, the then 20-year-old was with Georgia’s Third Infantry Division when he believed he was communicating online with ISIS about the terrorist plots.
Unbeknownst to Bridges, a federal agent was on the chat as Bridges gave detailed instructions on tactics and manuals and advice on how to attack the monument and other targets in New York City, said Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for federal prosecutors Manhattan in 2021.
Around the same time, Bridges reportedly began researching online propaganda for jihadists, and expressed support for ISIS and jihad on social media.
In October 2020, Bridges began communicating with the undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East.
During these exchanges, Bridges “expressed his frustration with the U.S. military and his desire to help ISIS,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Bridges then reportedly began giving the undercover agent instructions to suspected ISIS fighters on how to attack US forces in the Middle East, going so far as to map out specific military maneuvers to maximize the lethality of the attacks.
Bridges reportedly sent his contact videos showing himself in a tactical mask and body armor, and standing in front of the ISIS flag while making a gesture symbolic of support for the terrorist organization
In the weeks before his arrest, Bridges sent the fake ISIS supporter video of himself in body armor standing in front of a flag commonly used by ISIS fighters making a gesture symbolizing support for the terrorist organization.
He later sent a second video in which he used a voice manipulator to deliver a propaganda speech in support of ISIS’ expected ambush of US troops, federal prosecutors said.
Bridges “offered further advice on how best to fortify an ISIS encampment to repel an attack by US Special Forces, including equipping certain buildings with explosives to kill US troops,” it said. Department of Justice.
Bridges will be sentenced by Judge Liman on November 2, 2023 at 2 p.m
The case will be handled by the Bureau’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Matthew Hellman are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Counterterrorism Unit trial attorney Michael Dittoe.