A US Air Force veteran and former airplane mechanic charged with attempting to join the Islamic State group in Syria on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges.
A bearded Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, wearing prison-issued khaki pants and a blue short-sleeved shirt, repeated his full name when asked, but said nothing else before Judge Nicholas Garaufis in a New York federal courthouse. His attorney, Michael Schneider, entered the plea on his behalf. He declined to address reporters after the brief court appearance.
Pugh, 47, was indicted on Tuesday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group and obstructing justice.
Photo: Reuters
He was stopped at a Turkish airport in January carrying a laptop containing information on Turkey-Syria border crossing points as well as 180 jihadist propaganda videos, including one featuring an Islamic State prisoner beheading, according to an indictment.
In a letter addressed to a woman who investigators believe is Pugh’s Egyptian wife, Pugh said: “I will use the talents and skills given to me by Allah to establish and defend the Islamic States,” according to court papers.
“There is only two possible outcomes for me,” said the letter, which was recovered from his computer. “Victory or martyr.”
The computer, as well as thumb drive data-storage devices and other recovered equipment, appeared to have been intentionally destroyed to deny access to investigators, the indictment said.
Garaufis scheduled a May 8 status conference to review prosecutors’ evidence and discuss any possible plea negotiations. Schneider said in court he would need time for his own forensic expert to review the data seized by federal authorities and to coordinate interviews with potential witnesses in Turkey, Egypt and elsewhere.
Pugh has been living overseas for the past year and a half, most recently in Egypt, the court papers show.
Pugh served in the air force from 1986 to 1990, and was trained in installing and maintaining aircraft engines and navigation and weapons systems.
The airman first class was first assigned in July 1987 to the Woodbridge Air Base in England and then to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona in July 1989, the air force said.
After leaving the air force, he worked as an avionics specialist and mechanic for companies in the Middle East and the US.
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