US Army Sgt. Indicted for Allegedly Trying to Help ISIS

Ikaika Kang is scheduled to appear in court Monday
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2017 1:43 PM CDT
US Army Sgt. Indicted for Allegedly Trying to Help ISIS
In this July 8 image taken from FBI video and provided by the US Attorney's Office in Hawaii, Army Sgt. Ikaika Kang holds an Islamic State flag after allegedly pledging allegiance to the terror group at a house in Honolulu.   (FBI/U.S Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii via AP, File)

A US Army sergeant arrested July 8 for allegedly attempting to give classified military documents, a drone, and more to the Islamic State has been indicted and will appear in court Monday to faces charges of trying to provide material support to a "foreign terrorist organization," Reuters reports. The FBI ran a year-long investigation into 34-year-old Ikaika Kang with undercover agents and others posing as members of ISIS. The FBI states Kang tried to get a small Go-Pro drone, military documents, and "military-style clothing and gear" to ISIS, according to NPR. He also allegedly wanted to make training videos for the terrorist organization to instruct its agents in hand-to-hand combat, in which he is an expert.

The FBI claims Kang had been making threatening statements since 2011. "He was reprimanded on several occasions for threatening to hurt or kill other service members, and for arguing pro-ISIS views while at work and on-post," an affidavit states. The military air traffic controller stationed in Hawaii allegedly swore allegiance to ISIS and expressed interest in committing a mass shooting, the AP reports. Kang's attorney, Birney Bervar, says his client has suffered from PTSD and other mental problems since returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "He's a decorated American soldier for 10 years, goes to Afghanistan and comes back, and things start going off the rails," Bervar says. He says authorities exploited Kang's mental problems during the undercover investigation, and his client plans to plead not guilty. (More providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization stories.)

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