“Today’s sentencing should send a strong message to those who seek to support terrorist groups—they will face serious consequences for their actions.”
Tairod Pugh, a Cold War-era veteran of the United States Air Force and convert to Islam, was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for attempting to give material support to a terrorist organization and for obstruction of justice. Pugh, of Neptune, New Jersey, was convicted in March of 2016 on federal charges; he was the first verdict from the 70 current cases pending against American citizens accused of supporting ISIS.
Pugh served in the Air Force as an avionics instrument specialist from 1986 to 1990; during sentencing, US District Court Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis characterized Pugh’s military service commendable but “a long time ago.” The would-be jihadist had reportedly been considered a person of interest by the FBI as late as 2001, when a co-worker at American Airlines reported to the Bureau that Pugh had said he sympathized with bin Laden and felt that the bombings of US embassies overseas in 1998 (the year Pugh converted) were justified.
Pugh initially pled not guilty to the two federal charges in March of 2015. According to the indictment, Pugh was fired from a job as an airline mechanic in Kuwait in December of 2014. He then flew from Egypt to Turkey on January 10, 2015 in an attempt to cross into Syria to join ISIS and fight for the terrorist organization. However, Turkey denied Pugh entrance into their country, and he was deported from Egypt back to the US. Upon arrival, Pugh was arrested by the FBI. Digital evidence revealed that Pugh’s computer contained information about joining ISIS, as well as jihadist videos of brutal ISIS executions and other propaganda. Desiring martyrdom, Pugh had repeatedly stated his desire on social media to never return home, despite having children still living in the United States.
During sentencing, Pugh’s lawyer argued for a lenient 15-year sentence, saying her client was mentally ill and had never actually made contact with ISIS. However, the prosecution pointed out that Pugh had “turned his back on his country and the military he once served to attempt to join a brutally violent terrorist organization committed to the slaughter of innocent people throughout the world.” When handing down the sentence, Judge Garaufis told Pugh, “You’ve made your choice, sir. I have no sympathy.”
The assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office, William F. Sweeney Jr., issued a statement saying, “Today’s sentencing should send a strong message to those who seek to support terrorist groups—they will face serious consequences for their actions.” As the first American to be charged for and convicted of attempting to provide support to ISIS, Pugh’s sentence will hopefully set a loud precedent to all those who would seek to serve the Islamic State instead of the United States: this attempt will result in rotting away in a jail cell for decades. Pugh had told his wife in a letter introduced in evidence in court that there were only two possible outcomes in his service of the Islamic State: victory or martyrdom.
We’ll be happy to ask the wannabe jihadist how that worked out for him in 2052.
