Who Is Cole Bridges? US Soldier Sentenced to 14 Years for Aiding ISIS Plot to Attack American Army

Washington: A US Army Soldier has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to aid ISIS in conducting a deadly ambush on US troops, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs.

Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, 24, from Stow, Ohio, was sentenced for attempting to provide material support to ISIS and for attempting to murder US service members in the Middle East.

According to court documents, Bridges enlisted in the US Army around September 2019 and served as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Prior to joining the Army, in or around 2019, he had begun consuming online jihadist propaganda and expressing support for ISIS and extremist ideology on social media.

By October 2020, roughly a year after enlisting, Bridges began communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter with connections to fighters in the Middle East. 

Bridges provided tactical guidance and training to individuals he believed to be ISIS fighters, including offering advice on potential attack targets in New York City.  

Among his alleged work for the terror organisation, Bridges created diagrams of military maneuvers designed to increase the lethality of attacks on US forces and advised on fortifying ISIS encampments to ambush US Special Forces. He also suggested wiring buildings with explosives to kill US troops. 

In January 2021, Bridges sent a video of himself in US Army body armor standing in front of an ISIS flag, making a gesture showing support for the group.