Soldier Receives 14-Year Sentence for Secret Betrayal Plot With ISIS

Judges gavel, scales of justice, and law books.

Army soldier Cole Bridges was sentenced to 14 years for plotting attacks on U.S. troops with ISIS.

At a Glance

Cole Bridges received a 14-year sentence for aiding ISIS against U.S. service members.
He pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on June 14, 2023.
Initially joined the Army in 2019 as a cavalry scout at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
Bridges’ support for ISIS began online before his military service.
The investigation involved multiple FBI field offices and Army Counterintelligence.

Sentencing and Conviction

24-year-old U.S. Army soldier Cole Bridges was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to aid ISIS and plot attacks against U.S. troops. The sentence includes an additional 10 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. This stern decision underscores the severity of Bridges’ crimes, consisting of providing ISIS with military tactics and training instructions intended to aid their mission against American forces.

Bridges pleaded guilty to these terrorism-related offenses on June 14, 2023. His plea served as admission to severe charges, illustrating the alarming reality of infiltration by radical ideologies within U.S. ranks. The charges, attempted support for ISIS and trying to kill U.S. service members, each carry a possible maximum sentence of 20 years, but a plea deal may have contributed to his 14-year sentence determination.

Today, Pfc. Cole Bridges was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and attempting to murder U.S. military service members, based on his efforts to assist ISIS to attack and kill U.S. soldiers. pic.twitter.com/2yQXQt8REv

— Army Counterintelligence Command (ACIC) (@Real_ArmyCI) October 11, 2024

Background and Radicalization

Bridges enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 2019, serving as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. However, his association with extremist ideologies began even prior to his military enlistment. By October 2020, he was already making contact with a covert FBI employee, under the impression they were an ISIS supporter, exchanging sensitive U.S. Army materials for terrorist activities.

“Our troops risk their lives for our country,” said Acting US attorney Audrey Strauss. “They should never face such peril at the hands of one of their own.”

Bridges’ betrayal was marked by his sending a video in January 2021, showing his commitment to ISIS, donned in his Army uniform. His communicated plans included suggestions for attacking U.S. forces and reinforcing ISIS encampments with explosives.

Complex Investigation and Prosecution

The complex investigation, conducted by various FBI field offices and the Army Counterintelligence, ensured that Bridges’ actions did not succeed. Their efforts culminated in an impressive operation that uprooted a potential threat from within the armed forces. The case prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of New York and a Trial Attorney from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

“Cole Bridges used his US army training to pursue a horrifying goal: the brutal murder of his fellow service members in a carefully plotted ambush,” the Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams said in a press release. “Bridges sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect and, making this abhorrent conduct even more troubling, was eager to help people he believed were members of a deadly foreign terrorist organization plan this attack.”

This case acts as a stern reminder of the vigilance required in defending against both foreign and domestic threats, imposing on authorities to work tirelessly to protect national security and ensure justice is served appropriately to those violating their oaths and duties.