The
US Justice Department released the below information:
The
Justice Department, along with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and
U.S. Army Counterintelligence, announced today the arrest of a private first
class in the U.S. Army, on federal terrorism charges based on Bridges’ alleged
efforts to assist ISIS to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.
Cole
James Bridges, aka Cole Gonzales, 20, of Stowe, Ohio, was charged by complaint
with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist
organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members. The
FBI and U.S. Army Counterintelligence arrested Bridges today, and he will be
presented later today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Georgia.
“Bridges
is charged with giving military advice and guidance on how to kill fellow
soldiers to individuals he thought were part of ISIS,” said Assistant Attorney
General for National Security John C. Demers. “This alleged personal and
professional betrayal of comrades and country is terrible to contemplate, but
fortunately, the FBI was able to identify the threat posed by Bridges, and
today's charges are the first step in holding him accountable for his
crimes. ISIS ideology continues to infect those who would threaten the
nation's security from within and without, and we will continue to fight this
threat.”
“As
alleged, Cole Bridges betrayed the oath he swore to defend the United States by
attempting to provide ISIS with tactical military advice to ambush and kill his
fellow service members,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of
New York Audrey Strauss. “Our troops risk their lives for our country,
but they should never face such peril at the hands of one of their own.
Today, thanks to the efforts of the agents and detectives of the JTTF, and our
partners in the Department of Defense, Bridges is in custody and facing federal
terrorism charges for his alleged crimes.”
“As
we allege today, Bridges, a private in the U.S. Army, betrayed our country and
his unit when he plotted with someone he believed was an ISIS sympathizer to
help ISIS attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East,” said FBI Assistant
Director in Charge of the New York Office William F. Sweeney Jr.
“Fortunately, the person with whom he communicated was an FBI employee, and we
were able to prevent his evil desires from coming to fruition. Bridges
could have chosen a life of honorable service, but instead he traded it for the
possibility of life in prison. This case should serve as a reminder that
the FBI’s New York JTTF will never quit in its commitment to protect our Nation
from all those who seek to do it harm.”
“Army
Counterintelligence’s top priority is protecting the force so it can remain
committed to fighting and winning our nation’s wars,” said Army
Counterintelligence Coordinating Authority Director Roy T. Cochran. “The
results of this investigation show the efforts of Army Counterintelligence
agents working alongside our partners in the FBI. We are dedicated to
protecting our soldiers, civilians, and families from terrorist acts and
insider threats.”
According
to the criminal complaint charging Bridges, which was unsealed today in
Manhattan federal court:
Bridges
joined the U.S. Army in approximately September 2019 and was assigned as a
cavalry scout in the 3rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart,
Georgia. Beginning in at least 2019, Bridges began researching and
consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent
ideology. Bridges also expressed his support for the Islamic State of Iraq
and al-Sham (ISIS) and jihad on social media. In or about October 2020,
Bridges began communicating with an FBI online covert employee (the “OCE”), who
was posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle
East. During these communications, Bridges expressed his frustration with
the U.S. military and his desire to aid ISIS. Bridges then provided
training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks,
including advice about potential targets in New York City, such as the 9/11
Memorial. Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a U.S. Army
training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, for use by ISIS.
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 attacks on U.S.
troops. Bridges further provided advice about the best way to fortify an
ISIS encampment to repel an attack by U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring
certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops. Then, in
January 2021, Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in body armor
standing before 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 U.S. troops.
Bridges is
charged in the complaint with (1) attempting to provide material support to
ISIS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, which carries a maximum sentence of 20
years in prison; and (2) attempting to murder U.S. military service members, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1114, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison. The statutory penalties are prescribed by Congress and are
provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the
defendant would be determined by the judge.
The
Justice Department praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint
Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which consists of agents and analysts from the
FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, U.S. Army
Counterintelligence, the FBI Washington Field Office, the FBI Atlanta Field
Office and its Savannah Resident Agency, the FBI Cleveland Field Office, the
FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern
District of Georgia, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army
Criminal Investigation Command, and the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division.
This
prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International
Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew Hellman,
and Sidhardha Kamaraju are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from
Trial Attorneys Michael Dittoe and Lauren Goddard of the Counterterrorism
Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.