A U.S. soldier who was caught by the FBI attempting to plot a terrorist attack with ISIS against the United States was sentenced to prison this week.
According to The Hill, the soldier was sentenced to 14 years in prison, which the judge said would be followed by a 10-year supervised release.
Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, entered a guilty plea for terrorism charges in 2023, a few years after he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
A Justice Department press release indicated Bridges was charged "for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.
The Hill noted:
Bridges joined the U.S. Army in 2019. Prior to enlisting, he consumed content promoting and expressed support for jihadists and “their violent ideology,” according to the DOJ.
About a year later, he began corresponding with an FBI agent who was posing as someone who had a contact within the ranks of ISIS. He offered his knowledge and know-how to the FBI agent and expressed his desire to help ISIS plot an attack against the United States.
The DOJ noted:
Per the release, Bridges sent the undercover agent some parts of the U.S. Army training manual and in approximately December 2020, gave the individual instructions on how to fight U.S. forces in the region.
Bridges went further in explaining strategies to maximize fatalities in such an attack, according to the press release.
"In or about December 2020, Bridges began to supply the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. Among other things, Bridges diagrammed specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of future attacks on U.S. troops," the DOJ wrote.
The DOJ added, "Bridges also provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to ambush U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops."
Bridges reportedly sent the person he believed was an ISIS contact a video of him in his Army uniform, pledging allegiance to the ISIS flag.
The DOJ continued, "Approximately one 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 U.S. troops."
Several agencies and military units assisted with catching Bridges before he took action, including "U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and U.S. Army Third Infantry Division."
Thankfully, he was caught, but it makes one wonder how many more like Bridges are out there and enlisted in the U.S. military.
