A U.S. Army soldier, fed on ISIS propaganda, will be spending 25 years behind bars for “his betrayal and his crimes.”
Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang, who spent his spare time watching ISIS recruitment videos on the internet, was sentenced Tuesday.
He ultimately swore an oath of allegiance to the terrorist organization that directly conflicted with the one he had already pledged to the U.S. Constitution. Kang was actively trying to assist the terrorist organization with “material support,” the Washington Examiner reports. (RELATED: ISIS Leader Tied To American Beheading Killed In Missile Strike)
“Kang swore to defend the United States as a member of our military, but betrayed his country by swearing allegiance to ISIS and attempting to provide it material support,” reads a statement from Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers. “With the sentence imposed today, he is being held accountable for his betrayal and his crimes.”
Kang became enamored with ISIS in early 2016 after he began viewing the online videos.
He owned an assault rifle and pistol and apparently felt that these could be put to good use for the terrorist organization as he began telling people that he was going to become a member of ISIS and would be willing to stage terror attacks on military parades in Hawaii where the soldier was posted at the time.
It all began to unravel for Kang when he spilled his convictions to clandestine FBI agents — masquerading as ISIS operatives — and handed over classified military documents to them. He also provided a military drone to the undercover agents, thinking ISIS could use it. (REVEALED: Secret Service Foiled Assassination Attempt On President Trump)
Despite being routed in Iraq, ISIS remains a dangerous and always transmuting terrorist organization with continued links in Syria and Iran. The United States continues to track ISIS leaders and to kill them.
Kang went so far as to train with the phony ISIS terrorists, finally going through the induction ceremony that supposedly made him an official member of ISIS. The FBI ended the charade before Kang could transform his ideas into practice when he said he was willing to randomly shoot people in a major Hawaiian city.