US Soldier Arrested For ISIS Links Praised Hitler; Wanted To ‘Kill Bunch Of People’

An active duty Army soldier based in Hawaii was arrested after allegedly trying to provide classified documents to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Monday.

The soldier, Ikaika Kang, pledged loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and he wanted to "kill a bunch of people,” according to an FBI affidavit, the Associated Press reported. The document also alleged Kang told a source, "Hitler was right, saying he believed in the mass killing of Jews.”

The 26-page affidavit from FBI Special Agent Jimmy Chen lays out the details of the year-long investigation into the 34-year-old soldier. Kang was also charged for copying military secret documents in 2015. He wanted to provide them to the terrorist group, the affidavit claimed.

However, Paul Delacourt, the FBI special agent in charge of the Hawaii bureau, said no documents made it to the ISIS. The affidavit also said Kang admitted Saturday, at a home in Honolulu, he voluntarily pledged loyalty to Baghdadi.

Kang had his military clearance revoked in 2012 for making pro-Islamic State comments while at work, and threatening to hurt or kill fellow service members. A year later, his clearance was reinstated after he completed military requirements. The affidavit, however, stated Army believed Kang was "becoming radicalized in 2016." The FBI was then asked to investigate.

Kang has two firearms registered in his name — an AR-15-style assault rifle and a handgun. After the shooting last summer at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, he told an undercover source that the "shooter did what he had to do and later said that America is the only terrorist organization in the world,” according to the court document.

Following Kang's initial court appearance on Monday, his attorney Birney Bervar said he did not know much about the case. He said he only talked to Kang for a few minutes. Bervar said it appeared his client might be suffering from service-related mental health issues of which the government was aware, but neglected to treat. The attorney asserted Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang was a decorated veteran of two deployments, the Washington Post reported.

The accused joined the Army in December 2001, just months after the September 11 terror attack. He served in Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011, and in Afghanistan from July 2013 to April 2014. Kang was assigned to the headquarters of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.

In a similar incident, a former Virginia National Guardsman Mohamed Jalloh was sentenced to 11 years in prison for plotting to help ISIS in February. He was arrested as a part of FBI sting operation in 2016. Jalloh served in the Virginia National Guard from 2009 to 2015.

In another similar case, Illinois National Guard Specialist Hasan Edmonds received a 30-year prison sentence in September. Hasan and his cousin plotted to attack the National Guard Armory in Joliet, Illinois, with rifles and grenades, ABC reported.