Private Cole Bridges from Stow has been convicted of trying to assist ISIS in an ambush of US troops

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(WJW) – A judge has sentenced a Stow soldier to 14 years in prison for trying to help the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, known as ISIS, plot an ambush of U.S. troops.

Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzalez, 24, of Stow, pleaded guilty last year to terrorism charges — specifically attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to assassinate U.S. service members, according to a Friday’s press release. of the US Department of Justice.

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Bridges faced 20 years in prison on each of the charges, FOX 8 News previously reported.

After Bridges enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2019, he became a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division, based in Georgia, according to the release.

Before then, he had already started viewing “online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology,” the publication said. In his social media posts, he expressed support for ISIS and jihad, which the government defines as a holy war against non-Muslims.

In October 2020, Bridges began communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter who was in contact with its fighters in the Middle East. Bridges told the officer he was frustrated with the military and wanted to help the terrorist organization.

He also provided training and guidance to suspected ISIS fighters after being told they were planning an attack, and provided advice on potential targets in New York City, the release said.

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The following December, he began sharing instructions with the agents on how ISIS fighters could attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. He even shared diagrams of military maneuvers to “maximize the lethality” of future ISIS attacks, the press release said. He also explained the best way to fortify an encampment for a possible ambush on US forces.

In January 2021, Bridges sent the agent a video of himself in his military-issued body armor, standing in front of a flag used by ISIS fighters “making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS,” according to the press release. In another video sent about a week later, he used a voice manipulator and read a propaganda speech in support of the ambush against US forces.

Bridges was arrested in Georgia in January 2021.

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