US soldier pleads guilty to aiding ISIS in targeting and killing fellow soldiers

A US army soldier from Ohio has been found guilty of assisting ISIS militants in ambushing and murdering his fellow soldiers in the Middle East.

U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District in New York shared the news via press release on Wednesday

The soldier, identified as Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, could face a maximum prison sentence of 40 years.

He pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.

After enlisting in the Army in 2019 and being stationed as a cavalry scout in Georgia, Bridges began researching online propaganda that promoted jihadist ideologies and expressed his support for ISIS.

In 2020, he initiated communication with an undercover agent who was posing as an ISIS militant.

Prosecutors stated that Bridges provided the undercover agent with “training and guidance” to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including offering advice on potential targets in New York City.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York stated, “As he admitted in court today, Cole Bridges attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his fellow soldiers in service of ISIS and its violent ideology. Bridges’s traitorous conduct was a betrayal of his comrades and his country. Thanks to the incredible work of the prosecutors of this office and our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Army, Bridges’s malign intent was revealed, and he now awaits sentencing for his crimes.”

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