N.J. Air Force Vet Enters Not Guilty Plea To Charge He Sought To Join ISIS

The U.S. Air Force veteran from Monmouth County accused of trying to join the terror group ISIS entered a not guilty plea during his court appearance in New York Wednesday morning, according to a report on NJ.com.

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, 47, whose last known address was in Neptune, pleaded not guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice before U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, the report said.

He did not speak during the brief hearing, other than when asked to state his name.

Pugh, who was arrested in Asbury Park on Jan. 16 by agents with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, was charged with trying to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after Turkish authorities denied him entry to Turkey on Jan. 10. Pugh, who had been living in Egypt, flew to Turkey and upon arrival claimed to be a pilot with the U.S. Special Forces who was there on vacation. Turkish officials sent him back to Egypt, where he was questioned by the FBI, and Pugh was deported to the United States shortly thereafter.

The attempted obstruction of justice charge comes from what federal authorities say was Pugh’s attempt to damage five USB storage drives that they say held jihadist propaganda movies, maps of potential entry points into Syria from Turkey, and writings by Pugh that stated his desire to fight in the jihad.

>> RELATED: Feds: N.J. Air Force Vet Tried To Join ISIS, Charged As Terrorist

Pugh, whose mother lives in Hainesport and who has family still living the Neptune area, based on family connections found on Facebook, served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990, receiving training in the installation and maintenance of engines, navigation and weapons systems in airplanes. He worked for commercial airlines and for government contractors in the years between his Air Force service and late 2014, when he was fired from his job as an airplane mechanic with Gryphon Airlines, which served the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and South Central Asia. He was fired sometime in late 2014, according to federal authorities.

His support of terror attacks was nearly two decades in the making, according to federal authorities, who cited comments he made to co-workers in 2001 backing the 1998 terror attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and supporting Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks.

The NJ.com report said Garaufis told prosecutors and attorneys that they should be prepared to head to trial by July.

“I’m prepared to try this case this summer, so don’t make any vacation plans. I think that an early trial is appropriate in a case such as this,” he said.

If convicted, Pugh faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison. He is scheduled to return to court on May 8.