Arrested after trying to enter Turkey, a New Jersey man was convicted by a federal jury Wednesday of trying to link up with jihadists in Syria.
BROOKLYN--An Air Force veteran from New Jersey, charged with planning to "fight jihad," was convicted by a federal jury Wednesday of attempting to join the terror group ISIS.
Tairod Pugh, 48, of Neptune--arrested last year just weeks after being fired from his job as an aircraft mechanic in Kuwait--was accused of traveling to Turkey in an effort to cross the border into Syria and "fight violent jihad."
Federal prosecutors said it marked the first conviction after a trial by jury in the United States involving an individual attempting to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, commonly known as ISIS or ISIL.
"Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh was willing to become a martyr, using his U.S. military training as a weapon for ISIL," said New York FBI Assistant Director Diego Rodriguez.
During closing arguments Tuesday, defense lawyer Eric Creizman insisted Pugh had no ill intent when he flew to Turkey in January 2015.
Jersey Jihad: Inside an investigation
Prosecutors said Pugh's efforts to enter Syria were thwarted after he was challenged by Turkish authorities, suspicious of his story that he was a pilot with U.S. Special Forces. They returned him on a flight back to Egypt, where he was ultimately deported back to the United States.
According to court filings, Pugh served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990 as an avionics instrument system specialist and received training in the installation and maintenance of aircraft engine, navigation, and weapons systems. In an FBI affidavit, Pugh was said to have moved to San Antonio, Tx., after leaving the Air Force and converted to Islam in 1998, where he "became increasingly radical in his beliefs."
The filings said Pugh had been carrying multiple electronic devices with him upon his return, including four USB thumb drives stripped of their plastic casings and an iPod wiped clean of data. However, a search of his water-damaged laptop computer revealed internet searches for "borders controlled by Islamic state." There were also a number of videos downloaded from the internet, including one showing ISIS members executing prisoners.
A letter purporting to be to his wife in Egypt, Misha, was also recovered from the laptop.
"I am a Mujahid. I am a sword against the oppressor and a shield for the oppressed. I will use the talents and skills given to me by Allah to establish and defend the Islamic States," he wrote.
Defense attorneys said the letter was never sent, and that he was just fantasizing.
Pugh faces up to 35 years in prison when he returns for sentencing in September before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
