NEW YORK (AP) – A US Army soldier was arrested in Georgia on Tuesday on a charge of terrorism after talking online about conspiracies to blow up the 9/11 memorial of New York and other landmarks and US soldiers in the Middle East East to attack, authorities said Tuesday.
Cole James Bridges of Stow, Ohio, has been detained on charges of attempting to materially support a terrorist organization – the Islamic State group – and attempted murder of a military member, said Nicholas Biase, a federal spokesman. prosecutors in Manhattan, said.
The 20-year-old soldier, also known as Cole Gonzales, was at the Third Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia, when he thought he was communicating online with the Islamic State about the terrorist plots, Biase said.
Unaware of Bridges, an FBI employee was talking, as Bridges gave detailed instructions on tactics and manuals and advice on the attack on the memorial and other targets in New York, Biase said.
“As we claim today, Bridges, a private in the U.S. military, betrayed our country and his unit when he conspired with someone he believed was an ISIS sympathizer to help ISIS recruit U.S. soldiers in the Middle East. To attack and kill East, “said William F. Sweeney Jr., head of the FBI office in New York.
“Fortunately, the person he was communicating with was an FBI agent, and we were able to prevent his evil desires from happening,” Sweeney said in a release.
“Our troops are risking their lives for our country, but they should never face such dangers by one of their own,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said.
Bridges would initially appear in federal court in Augusta, Georgia, on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear who would represent him.
According to a criminal complaint in federal court in Manhattan, Bridges joined the U.S. military in September 2019 and was named a cavalry scout in Fort Stewart.
At one point, he investigated online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology, authorities said.
They said he had expressed his support for the Islamic State group and jihad on social media before communicating with an FBI agent in October posing as a supporter of the Islamic State in contact with the group. fighters in the Middle East.
According to court documents, he expressed his frustration over the U.S. military and his desire to help the Islamic State group.
According to the criminal charge, he then provided training and guidance to suspected Islamic State fighters who planned attacks, including advice on potential targets in New York, including the 9/11 Memorial.
It said he also provided portions of a U.S. Army training manual and guidance on military combat tactics.
Bridges also set up specific military maneuvers to help the terrorist group’s fighters kill US troops, including the best way to strengthen an army to repel an attack by US special forces and how to bomb certain buildings wired to kill American troops.
According to the complaint, Bridges this month sent a video of himself in an armor standing in front of an Islamic State flag and giving support.
A week later, Bridges posted a second video in which he used a voice manipulator and delivered a propaganda speech in support of the expected ambush of US troops by the Islamic State.
Fort Stewart officials did not immediately comment on Tuesday, said Kevin Larson, a spokesman for the Army Post.
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Associated Press Writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.