Northeast

Army soldier sentenced to 14 years for ISIS plot to kill US forces, after requesting he serve 40 years

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2024

Army soldier sentenced to 14 years for ISIS plot to kill US forces, after requesting he serve 40 years

A U.S. Army soldier has been sentenced to 14 years in prison having pleaded guilty to attempting to assist the Islamic State terror group on how to ambush his fellow soldiers in the Middle East during conversations in which he believed he was speaking with a terrorist.

Cole Bridges, 24, of Stow, Ohio, was handed down the sentence after a nearly five-hour Manhattan federal court proceeding in which he surprisingly requested he be given a maximum 40-year sentence. Bridges pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in June 2023.

“Honestly, I do believe that I deserve the maximum sentence,” Bridges told Judge Lewis J. Liman. “I know what I did was wrong,” he said, adding he would carry “regret for as long as I live.”

US, IRAQ TEAM UP TO KILL 15 ISIS OPERATIVES IN EARLY MORNING RAID, US MILITARY SAYS

Cole Bridges, 22, admitted to trying to help ISIS ambush his fellow U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, federal prosecutors said. (U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command)

Liman cited numerous facts that he said demonstrated Bridges was “not a hardened criminal” and said he had no actual communications with the Islamic State organization.

Bridges, also known as Cole Gonzales, was assigned to the Third Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia, as a cavalry scout at the time of the crime, the Justice Department said. He joined the Army in September 2019.

According to court documents, about a year before he joined the Army, 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.

About a year into his service, Bridges began communicating with an FBI online covert employee (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, per the court documents.

Bridges provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City. He 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.

3 YEARS AFTER US WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN, ISRAEL LOOKS TO LESSONS LEARNED FROM WAR ON TERROR

A masked Islamic State soldier poses holding the ISIS flag in 2015. (History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Bridges also began supplying the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East, including diagramming military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of future attacks on U.S. troops.

He also gave advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to ambush U.S. Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the U.S. troops.

In January 2021, Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his U.S. Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS.

Around a week later, Bridges sent a second propaganda video he narrated using a voice manipulator in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on U.S. troops.

Judge Liman said the 14-year sentence would deter other members of the armed forces who might want to attack the military. He said Bridges had “shown signs of remorse,” including expressing relief after his arrest that he had been dealing with the FBI rather than terrorists.

Bridges provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Bridges, the judge added, also had not sought any materials from other soldiers that might be useful to the Islamic State organization. He said the “most chilling evidence” was Bridges’ willingness to provide the undercover agent with advice on how the terrorist group could minimize casualties in an attack.

His attorney, Sabrina Shroff, asked Friday that he be sentenced to the nearly four years he has already served behind bars and argued for leniency because Bridges was lured into the plot by undercover U.S. law enforcement agents who posed as supporters of the Islamic State group.

She said Bridges was a vulnerable target who was seeking a sense of community after becoming isolated from his family and suffering from depression.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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New Hampshire

Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire

Published

33 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

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Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire

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New Jersey

N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

Published

39 minutes ago

February 28, 2026

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N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.

Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.

“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.

She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.

“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.

A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.

“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.

Andrea (left) whose husband, Christian, was taken into custody during a raid on a Trenton auto repair shop, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, while translator Ashley Batz reads her statement in English. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”

The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.

“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”

With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.

Asma Elhuni speaking at a podium — Asma Elhuni, an organizer with Resistencia En Acción NJ speaks at a press conference at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton, joined by pastor Erich Kussman. The group was responding to the detention of three workers at Agudo’s Repair Shop on Feb. 20, 2026. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”

Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.

Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 2 Day results for Feb. 27, 2026

Published

1 hour ago

February 28, 2026

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The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

11-18-39-43-67, Mega Ball: 23

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 4-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 8-8, Wild: 0

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 6-7-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 0-0-3, Wild: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 7-2-1-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 5-7-3-1, Wild: 0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 8-4-5-4-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 1-1-9-8-7, Wild: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

04-14-16-20-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

02-04-08-13-30

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

10-12-23-31-33-46

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

03-04-13-28-42, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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