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Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Attempting to Assist ISIS
Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, 24, of Stow, Ohio, has been sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.
Bridges pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on June 14, 2023. According to court documents, Bridges joined the U.S. Army in approximately September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Before he joined the Army, beginning in at least 2019, Bridges began researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology, and began to express his support for ISIS and jihad on social media. In or about October 2020, approximately one year after joining the Army, 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. Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a U.S. Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, with the understanding that the materials would be used by ISIS in future attack planning.
Bridges’ crimes include attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS) and attempting to murder U.S. military service members. The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI field offices in Washington, Atlanta, and Cleveland; U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and U.S. Army Third Infantry Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Matthew Hellman for the Southern District of New York prosecuted the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Bridges was sentenced on December 2023. The case serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by terrorist organizations and the importance of vigilance and cooperation between law enforcement agencies in preventing and investigating such crimes.
Cole Bridges, 24, of Stow, Ohio, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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