I am waiting for either or both Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to start shouting Islamophobia. Authorities have arrested a young soldier and charged him with “attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group and the attempted murder of U.S. military service members.”
These are very serious federal crimes that carry a hefty penalty. But Biden is in charge now, so what happens is unknown.
Cole Bridges, a 20-year-old American who joined the U.S. Army in late 2019has been arrested.
He converted to Islam in early October of 2020. He then made contact with what he thought was a terrorist but was actually an FBI agent.
According to the criminal complaint against him:
BRIDGES then provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City, such as the 9/11 Memorial. 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 or about 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, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops.
Then, in January 2021, BRIDGES provided the OCE with a video of himself in body armor standing before a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS. Approximately a week later, BRIDGES sent a second video in which BRIDGES, using a voice manipulator, narrated a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on U.S. troops.
This is not the first incident of a Muslim soldier turned terrorist. But realistically there is not much we can do.
We can’t ban Muslims from joining the military. But what we could do is inform all service members that if they hear anything suspicious, notify your immediate superior with a detailed explanation of what they saw or heard.
That could stop some attacks but not all.
