A former U.S. soldier was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to provide ISIS with information to plan an ambush attack that he believed could kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, the United States said. received the verdict. Department of Justice.
Soldier, Private. Cole Bridges, 24, of Stowe, Ohio, also discussed potential terrorist attack locations in New York City with an undercover FBI agent believed to be an Islamic State sympathizer.
Private Bridges joined the military in 2019 and was assigned to an infantry division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. According to the Justice Department, he was already persuaded by extremist ideology before joining the military.
“Cole Bridges used his U.S. Army training to pursue his horrific goal of brutally murdering fellow service members in carefully planned ambushes,” Damien Williams, attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. said.
Private Bridges began studying jihadist propaganda at least in 2019 and posted support for ISIS on social media. About a year after joining the Army, he began corresponding with an FBI agent who was in contact with ISIS supporters in the Middle East.
A criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York describes Private Bridges as a “supporter of ISIS and its mission to establish a global caliphate” and details the soldier’s fervent intentions to support the Islamic State. There is.
The complaint describes Internet searches he conducted for terms such as “American soldier shooting” and “Green Beret ambush.”
Private Bridges and the informant began communicating via encrypted messaging applications around October 2020. According to court records, Private Bridges provided portions of U.S. military training manuals and advice on combat tactics, believing the information could be used in future attacks against U.S. soldiers.
Private Bridges also provided advice on how to fortify ISIS camps to ambush U.S. forces, including wiring explosives to kill soldiers who entered certain buildings.
According to court filings, Private Bridges provided an informant with a video of himself making a symbolic gesture of support for the group in front of a flag known to be used by ISIS fighters. provided. About a week later, he sent another video in which he spoke of his support for the upcoming ambush of American soldiers.
Federal prosecutors said there was also an attempt to support a domestic conspiracy.
The informant sent Private Bridges images of government buildings in and around New York City with a message questioning whether an attack on a heavily guarded building was possible.
“Choose your targets wisely,” Private Bridges wrote. He and the informant then discussed a possible attack on the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan.
Private Bridges was arrested in January 2021 and pled guilty in June 2023 to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and attempting to kill a U.S. military personnel. Each of these charges carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A personal attorney was not immediately available.
In addition to his prison sentence, Private Bridges was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release.
“Mr. Bridges attempted to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect, making this abhorrent act even more troubling because he believes he is a member of a dangerous foreign terrorist organization,” Williams said in a statement. “We were eager to help these people plan this attack.” . “This is the worst betrayal of orders.”
