islamic state watch

U.S. Air Force Veteran From New Jersey Charged With Attempting to Join ISIS

A fighter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holds an ISIL flag and a weapon on a street in the city of Mosul in this June 23, 2014 file photo.
Photo: Reuters/Corbis

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, a New Jersey resident who served as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, was indicted on Monday on federal charges for attempting to join ISIS, reports NBC News.

Employed for the past several years as an airplane mechanic in Kuwait, Pugh allegedly tried to fly from Egypt to Turkey in January so that he could attempt to cross the border into Syria. Turkish authorities sent him straight back to Egypt, where he was eventually deported to the U.S. for having “suspicious items.” Federal investigators found an especially sketchy search history on Pugh’s computer, including queries about how to cross the Turkish border.

Pugh has been indicted on two charges, including “attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization.”

U.S. Air Force Veteran Tried to Join ISIS