Hawaii Soldier To Plead Guilty To Supporting ISIS After Sting Operation

A Hawaii-based Army soldier will plead guilty to supporting the Islamic State, his attorney said.

• Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang was arrested last year after an Army and FBI investigation, part of which took place at Alabama's Fort Rucker. At the time of his arrest, Kang was an active duty air traffic controller assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii.
• Assistant Honolulu Federal Defender Alexander Silvert told the AP it isn't clear which charges Kang will be pleading to. A plea agreement hasn't been filed in court.
• According to court documents, the FBI searched Kang's lodging and computers in 2016 while he was attending a six weeks course for senior enlisted leaders at Fort Rucker. The computers, according to the filing, contained 18 military documents labeled “secret,” with files dating back to 2013. Investigators also found more than 2,000 videos, documents, and graphics that referenced ISIS or violence.
• Kang, 35, also reportedly told an undercover agent at Fort Rucker that he wanted to travel to Turkey to reach the Islamic State consulate and join in fighting with the terrorist group.
• Subsequent searches of Kang's computers and home in Hawaii revealed more ISIS-related material and classified military documents, according to the filing. Prosecutors later said he took an oath of loyalty to the Islamic terrorist group and expressed a desire to “take his rifle, his magazines and kill a bunch of people.'”
• Kang, who grew up in Hawaii, enlisted in the Army in December 2001, just months after the Sept. 11 attacks. He served in South Korea from 2002 to 2003. He deployed to Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011 and Afghanistan from July 2013 to April 2014.
• He is scheduled to officially enter his plea Thursday.

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