FORT RUCKER, Ala. — An undercover operation at Alabama’s Fort Rucker that began back in 2016 led to the Saturday arrest of a man believed to support ISIS. The 34-year-old soldier, Ikaika Erik Kang, was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawai but spent six weeks at Fort Rucker where authorities believe he engaged in radicalizing activity.
Kang has been formally charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.
The FBI obtained warrants to search Kang’s quarters and technology at Fort Rucker last year. They found more than 2,000 ISIS-related videos, documents, and graphics, most of which were violent in nature.
After the search, the FBI planted an undercover agent in the base to interact with Kang. The two discussed traveling to Turkey to go to the ISIS consulate.
“Kang discussed the possibility of joining ISIS and fighting for ISIS. He told [the undercover agent at Fort Rucker] ‘people still say it’s illegal to join them but the way I look at it they are just fighting the people who are committing genocide there. I’m just going to go there…and fight these guys who are committing genocide,'” the FBI documents state.
The undercover agent noted that Kang knew that authorities could be on his trail, so he tried to stay off the grid. “Kang further indicated he had not purchased an airline ticket because he believed he would be arrested,” FBI reports state. “Kang said that he didn’t want to do anything on the internet because he was afraid the FBI ‘will show up at my door.'”
According to FBI reports, Kang wanted to help provide combat training to members of ISIS. Prosecutors even assert that he took an oath of loyalty to ISIS because he wanted to “kill a bunch of people.”
Additional searches of his technology and property have revealed more ISIS material as well as classified U.S. military information. His preliminary hearing is set for July 24.
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