A soldier in the United States Army has been arrested in Georgia after he plotted online to blow up the 9/11 Memorial in New York City and other landmarks around the country, the Associated Press reports.
Cole James Bridges, a 20-year-old from Stow, Ohio, was arrested at Fort Stewart, Georgia for attempted material support of a terrorist organization and attempted murder of a military member. Bridges, who is known as Cole Gonzales, reportedly thought he was talking with members of the Islamic State about killing soldiers in the Middle East. He was unwittingly communicating with FBI agents.
“As we allege today, Bridges, a private in the U.S. Army, betrayed our country and his unit when he plotted with someone he believed was an ISIS sympathizer to help ISIS attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York City’s FBI office.