US soldier sentenced to 14 years for role in planned terror attack

MANHATTAN (CN) — A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 14 years in Manhattan federal court on Friday for trying to help the Islamic State group plan to attack the 9/11 Memorial in New York City and target his fellow servicemen in the Middle East.

Cole James Bridges, a private in the U.S. Army, pleaded guilty last June to foreign terrorism charges, namely attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.

Bridges provided sensitive military information to people he believed were IS jihadists and “proudly displayed a troubling and worsening affinity for terrorist organizations including ISIS,” the government said in its sentencing memo.

“Cole Bridges is a traitor. He attempted to murder American soldiers,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel S. Adelsberg said Friday.

Bridges appeared in court wearing a white kufi, a traditional cap worn by Muslim men. He said during proceedings that what he did was “stupid” and he’d be paying for the mistake the rest of his life.

“I know what I did was wrong, and a prison sentence is not the only punishment I have to face,” Bridges said. “I have to know that I did this for the rest of my life.”

Christopher Bridges, Cole Bridges’ father, appeared in court on behalf of his son. In a statement delivered to the court, he said that he and Cole Bridges have had a tumultuous relationship, but they have been working on fixing it.

“If anybody has the right to not support Cole, it’s me,” said Christopher Bridges, who served in the U.S. Army for 25 years. “But I do support him.”

While Bridges’ attorneys requested a much lower sentence, Bridges himself asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 40 years.

“I do believe that I deserve the maximum sentence, honestly. And that’s what I ask of you,” Bridges said.

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, a Donald Trump appointee, said Bridges’ request did not factor into his decision.

“The conduct was not only wrong, it was a betrayal of country. It was also a betrayal of the oath he took with the U.S. Army,” Liman said before imposing the sentence.

Prosecutors say Bridges began looking up violent footage related to IS operations within months of joining the Army in September 2019. In 2020, he began posting Facebook comments and videos in support of the terrorist organization.

In one August 2020 post, Bridges posted a statement he attributed to Shayk Sulayman Ibn Nasir AI-Alwan, a prominent Salafist scholar and proponent of militant jihad.

In September 2020, prosecutors say Bridges began communicating with someone he thought was a fellow supporter of IS. In one message, Bridges said he supported attacks on U.S. military bases “in Muslim lands.”

Unbeknown to Bridges, the supporter was an undercover FBI agent.

The agent told Bridges they were an IS supporter who was in contact with the group’s fighters in the Middle East and said their brother was a U.S. military veteran in New York City that wanted to train for an IS operation. The agent also pretended to be the “brother” in messages with Bridges.

In his conversations with the agent, prosecutors say Bridges repeatedly expressed his support for IS, suggested military tactics for the terrorist organization to use against American forces and suggested the 9/11 Memorial in New York City as a target for an attack.

Bridges argued that his actions were a consequence of the volatile mental state he was in at the time because of his estranged relationship with his family, a recent bad breakup and history of depression.

“The dissonance for this child was really something that caused long-term consequences,” said Sabrina Shroff, an attorney for Bridges.

Shroff also said that all of the information he sent the agent was done so at the agent’s request. She said Bridges was desperate for a sense of community and was goaded into sending military information because he wanted to impress the agent.

Liman agreed and declined to impose the maximum sentence of 40 years against Bridges.

“He committed the crimes at a moment of great vulnerability,” Liman said, adding that he believes Bridges was a good candidate for rehabilitation and treatment.

Captain Scott Parker, who served in the same platoon as Bridges and was asked to assist with the federal investigation, said during proceedings Friday that Bridges’ actions destroyed the platoon’s morale.

“I hope you realize you failed in what you wanted to do, both by joining the Army and your attempt to betray it,” said Parker, addressing Bridges directly.

Master Sergeant Greg Fallon, who also assisted in the investigation, said learning of Bridges’ actions kept him up a lot of nights from the stress. “I did not ask for any of the stress, the worrying and the uncertainty that came with it,” Fallon said.

Fallon echoed Parker’s sentiments, adding that some members of the platoon had to seek clinical help for mental instabilities following Bridges’ arrest.

“He hates us to this day and wants to kill us just for being Americans,” Fallon said.

Bridges also helped plot a purported attack on American forces in Syria, prosecutors say. In conversations with the agent, he suggested where IS fighters should position themselves and sent tactical drawings of how he thought the attack should be executed.

After formulating the plan, Bridges recorded a video praising IS and sent it to the agent.

“Open your eyes to the truth and pick up the banner of tawhid, the banner of the Islamic State, the banner of Khilafah,” he says in the video, using a voice-changer and wearing a mask.

Bridges was arrested in January 2021 at the Charlie Troop Command Post in Ford Stewart, Georgia.

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