A US air force veteran is facing charges for allegedly attempting to join the Islamic State, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
A federal grand jury on Monday indicted US citizen Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and with the obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice. His arraignment is set for Wednesday in New York’s eastern district court in Brooklyn. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
The Justice Department said in a release that Pugh travelled from Egypt to Turkey in January as part of an attempt to cross the border into Syria to join Isis. He was arrested in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on 16 January.
The US attorney’s office worked with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Customs and Border Protection, the New York police department and New Jersey police departments on the case.
US attorney Loretta Lynch, who is waiting to be confirmed as US attorney general, said Pugh, “allegedly turned his back on his country”.
“We will continue to vigorously prosecute extremists, whether based here or abroad, to stop them before they are able to threaten the United States and its allies,” Lynch said.
Pugh was an avionics instrument system specialist in the air force, according to court documents.
He travelled to Turkey on 10 January, but country authorities denied him entry. Authorities sent him back to Egypt, where he was found carrying electronic devices including four USB thumb drives, a mobile phone with a photo of a machine gun and an iPod that had its data removed.
Pugh was deported to the US shortly after, the Justice Department said. JTTF obtained a search warrant for Pugh’s electronic devices on 15 Jan.
On Pugh’s laptop, authorities found recent internet searches for “borders controlled by Islamic state”, “who controls kobani”, “kobani border crossing” and “jarablus border crossing”. The computer also had recent searches for the Isis propaganda video “flames of war” and downloaded videos including one showing the killing of Isis prisoners.
A search of two backpacks he had brought on his travels included compasses, solar-powered flashlights, camping clothes and a solar-powered power source.
In February, three men from Brooklyn, New York, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support to Isis.
