Cole Bridges, a US soldier, has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State terrorist group and conspiring to murder fellow service members in the Middle East, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced. Bridges contacted an undercover FBI agent posing as a jihadist and provided him with information to plan terrorist attacks on US soil and against US troops in the Middle East region.
The prosecutor emphasized that Bridges attempted to stage a deadly ambush against his fellow soldiers in the name of the Islamic State and its violent ideology. His treasonous conduct was considered a betrayal of his country and his comrades. The charges brought against him carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and his sentence will be handed down on November 2 by the court.
Since at least 2019, Bridges has begun acquiring online propaganda materials promoting the Islamic State and has expressed support for jihadist ideology on social media. In October 2020, he established contact with the FBI undercover agent, whom he believed had connections to militants of the group in the Middle East.
During conversations with the undercover agent, Bridges expressed his disillusionment with the US military and offered assistance to those he believed to be jihadist fighters preparing attacks in the United States. He provided tips on possible targets in New York, including the 9/11 Memorial. In addition, he sent the agents portions of the US Army training manual and shared specific tactics intended to maximize the lethality of attacks against US troops in the Middle East. He also provided instructions on how to fortify a camp to repel US Special Forces attacks.
In January 2021, Bridges recorded two videos in which he delivered a speech next to an Islamic State flag in support of the group’s attack on US troops. He was subsequently arrested on terrorism charges. This case highlights the importance of prosecutors, the FBI, and the US Army working together to detect and prevent potential terrorist threats.