© U.S. Attorney's Office/ReutersTairod Nathan Webster Pugh, one of the first U.S. defendants to face trial for supporting IS, is shown in this government exhibit image provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.
A US Air Force veteran from New Jersey has been found guilty by a New York court of supporting ISIS and planning to travel to Syria to fight with the group.
The accused is one of about 80 Americans the government has been trying to put away on the charges.Tairod Pugh, 48, a New Jersey native, stands guilty of providing material support to Islamic State (IS/ISIS, formerly ISIL) and obstruction of justice. He now potentially faces the maximum sentence of 35 years for the crime, after being found guilty by an anonymous jury of eight, the
Wall Street Journal reports. The sentencing is scheduled for September 16.
Pugh, who is a Muslim convert, served in the Air Force in the period from 1986 to 1990, the Justice Department said. Pugh was first caught trying to make it to Syria from Turkey in January of last year,
but the former Air Force mechanic was intercepted by Turkish security and deported to the US, where the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force acquired a warrant and arrested him at his father's house in Asbury Park, NJ soon thereafter.Pugh's father appeared taken aback by the verdict. "I didn't expect this," he said after the hearing. Pugh's attorney, Eric Creizman, added: "I feel bad for him and his family. I think the jury gave fair consideration to the evidence. I'm disappointed with the outcome."
But being the first to be successfully tried and convicted of the crime on US soil, Pugh's case represents a high-profile victory, stretching back two years to a wide crackdown on IS supporters on home soil. It took the jury a week of testimony and seven hours to reach a verdict.
Comment: Since almost all media (exception being counter-hegemonic alternative media, such as SOTT) take their marching orders from about six global sources, it is a slam dunk that the public will be unduly swayed by whatever commentary is spoon fed to the outlets. If the PTB want Islamophobia, the labeling and slant will be its consistent and prevalent reflection.