LF: Former U.S. Air Force mechanic charged with trying to join IS in Syria, officials say

Title: Former U.S. Air Force mechanic charged with trying to join IS in Syria, officials say
Source: Yahoo!/ABC
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/air-force-cha ... ia-brooklyn-fbi-172050146.html
Published: Mar 17, 2015
Author: Pierre Thomas and Mike Levine
Post Date: 2015-03-17 13:43:47 by Willie Green
Keywords: None
Views: 5358
Comments: 32

A former U.S. Air Force mechanic has been charged with trying to cross into Syria to join ISIS, authorities said today.

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh was indicted on Monday by grand jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., on two charges that included attempting to provide material support to terror organization and obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding.

The indictment does not offer much in the way of details about the case, but says that between May 2014 and January 12, 2015, he tried to join ISIS.

He was charged via secret criminal complaint on Jan. 16 and was arrested two days later.

The indictment says that in the days leading up to his arrest, he tried to damage or destroy four USB thumb drives and the images and files on them, authorities said.

Those computer files, officials said, showed that in late December 2014, Pugh had "conducted Internet searches" for "borders controlled by Islamic state” and "who controls kobani,” "kobani border crossing” and “jarablus border crossing."

The search also revealed that this past January, he also downloaded a "chart of crossing points between Turkey and Syria" — indicating the areas on the Syrian side of the border controlled by ISIS, authorities said.

"He also searched for 'Flames of War,' a 55-minute ... propaganda video, and in late December 2014 he downloaded a video showing [ISIS] members executing prisoners by lining them up and shooting them in the head," according to court papers.

Pugh served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990 as an avionics instrument specialist.

Pugh will be arraigned before a federal judge on Wednesday. If convicted at trial, Pugh faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.

#15. To: Willie Green, redleghunter, A K A Stone, Pericles, sneakypete (#0) (Edited)

They can't really hide that they didn't discover this only after they seized his equipment. The NSA appears to be wiretapping the internet backbone at various key junctures and, in addition to collecting metadata as we have learned from the Snowden episode, they are wiretapping the entire internet for phrases like those listed above.

The old "destroying evidence" charge. Even if he gets these thrown out, they'll still have other secret evidence to hang him with. The intent here is to hide their methods, not charge a criminal for his actual crimes.

I have to wonder if the FBI was involved in some way, maybe luring this guy into ISIS recruitment. No doubt that most "ISIS recruiters" are FBI.

Great sleuthing. At least here I don't have to read the asshat Freepers praising the FBI for busting another al-Qaeda cell which turns out to be homeless men or some such.

TC,it doesn't disturb you more than a little that the Eddie Murphy wannabe is praising your paranoia?