A US Army soldier pleaded guilty to attempting “to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his fellow soldiers in service of ISIS and its violent ideology.”
The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that US Army Private First Class Cole Bridges, also known as “Cole Gonzales,” pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder US military service members.
“Bridges’ traitorous conduct was a betrayal of his comrades and his country,” US Attorney Damian Williams said.
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According to the DOJ, Bridges joined the US Army in September 2019 and served as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. As early as 2019, Bridges began consuming online jihadist propaganda and expressing support for ISIS and jihad on social media.
Bridges initiated communication with an FBI online covert employee (OCE) posing as an ISIS supporter in the Middle East in October 2020. In these interactions, Bridges expressed frustration with the US military and his desire to assist the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). He offered training and guidance to individuals he believed to be ISIS fighters, including advising on potential targets in New York City. Bridges also shared portions of a US Army training manual and offered guidance on military combat tactics to be used by ISIS.
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A few months later, the soldier began supplying instructions to the OCE on attacking US forces in the Middle East, even diagramming “specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of attacks.” He also provided recommendations on fortifying an ISIS encampment against US Special Forces, suggesting using explosives to target American troops.
“Then, in January 2021, Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his US Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS. Approximately a week later, Bridges sent a second video in which Bridges, using a voice manipulator, narrated a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on US troops.”
The 22-year-old soldier from Stow, Ohio, now faces severe consequences for his actions. Each of the charges he pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. US District Judge Lewis J. Liman is scheduled to sentence Bridges on November 2, 2023.
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