US soldier sentenced to 14 years in prison for trying to help Islamic State group

PHOTO CAPTION: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to help the Islamic State conduct a deadly ambush of U.S. troops, the Department of Justice said on Friday.

Cole Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, 24, will undergo supervised release for 10 years following his release from prison, the department said.

Bridges, who was a private first class at the time of his arrest, was charged in 2021 with giving "military advice and guidance on how to kill fellow soldiers to individuals he thought were part of ISIS."

He pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in June 2023.

Bridges joined the Army in 2019.

Before joining, according to the department, he 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."



(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Bill Berkrot)