A 22-year-old Army soldier, identified as Cole Bridges, has pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to assist ISIS in ambushing and murdering US soldiers in the Middle East, according to an announcement by the Justice Department on Friday.
Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, hailing from Stow, Ohio, could face a maximum of 40 years in prison for his offenses.
In a federal court in New York, he entered a guilty plea for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.
Federal prosecutors revealed that Bridges enlisted in the Army in September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in Georgia.
During the same year, he began researching online propaganda related to jihadist activities and openly expressed his support for ISIS and jihad through online platforms.
Prosecutors further stated that Bridges initiated communication with an undercover FBI agent, posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with actual ISIS fighters, around October 2020.
