Terrorism suspect who planned to join ISIS will plead not guilty, lawyer says
A U.S. Air Force veteran and airplane mechanic accused of plotting to travel to Syria to join ISIS will plead not guilty to terrorism charges, his attorney said.
Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, of Neptune, N.J., was indicted on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group and obstructing justice, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. He was due in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Pugh had been stopped at a Turkish airport in January carrying a laptop with information on Turkey-Syria border crossing points, 180 jihadist propaganda videos including footage of an ISIS prisoner beheading, and a letter declaring: “I will use the talents and skills given to me by Allah to establish and defend the Islamic States.”