Related Federal Cases
Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Charges
Cole Bridges, aka Cole Gonzales, a 22-year-old man from 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. According to court documents, Bridges joined the U.S. Army in September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Bridges began researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology as early as 2019. He expressed his support for ISIS and jihad on social media. In October 2020, 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. He 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, for use by ISIS.
In December 2020, Bridges began to supply the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East. Among other things, Bridges diagrammed specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of attacks on U.S. troops. Bridges further provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to repel an attack by U.S. Special Forces.
Cole Bridges, aka Cole Gonzales, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and attempting to murder U.S. military service members. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2. Attempting to provide material support to ISIS carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and attempting to murder U.S. military service members carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which primarily consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state and local agencies, is investigating the case. The U.S. Army Counterintelligence, the FBI Washington Field Office, the FBI Atlanta Field Office and its Savannah Resident Agency, the FBI Cleveland Field Office, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the U.S. Army Third Infantry Division provided valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Matthew Hellman for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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