N.J. Air Force Vet 'Turned His Back' On U.S., Tried To Join ISIS, Prosecutors Say

NEW YORK -- A former Monmouth County resident and U.S. Air Force veteran is on trial in New York Tuesday on charges he tried to join ISIS, one of the first such trials of an American, according to a report.

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, 48, of Neptune, was indicted last March by a federal grand jury in New York on charges of attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group and obstruction of justice.

Pugh had been fired from his job as an airplane mechanic based in the Middle East, prosecutors said at the time of Pugh’s arrest on March 18.

Pugh, who served in the Air Force from 1986 to 1990 as an avionics specialist, learning installation and maintenance of aircraft engine, navigation and weapons systems, also has ties to the Mount Holly area. Barbara Pugh lives in Hainesport, according to public property records, and Pugh identified her as his mother on Facebook in comments the two made on a photo of Pugh with his wife, Mona, taken in April 2014 on the Nile River. Pugh also has two children, according to photos he posted on Facebook. The Facebook account was later removed.

The federal arrest affidavit said the charges come from Pugh’s detention in Turkey and Egypt in January. Pugh flew from Egypt to Turkey Jan. 10, and upon arrival Turkish authorities questioned why he was in the country. Pugh claimed he was a U.S. Special Forces pilot seeking to go on vacation. Dissatisfied with Pugh’s answer and his refusal to allow them to search his laptop, Turkish authorities sent him back to Egypt, where he was detained to be deported back to the United States.

He was arrested after a search of the laptop and several other electronics devices turned up information and data, including maps showing entry points from Turkey to Syria, authorities said last March.

The New York Daily News reported that during opening remarks at the trial Tuesday, prosecutors said Pugh, who had once served on the Air Force Honor Guard, helping to bury fallen members of the Air Force.

“The defendant turned his back on the country he once pledged to serve,” Assistant US Attorney Mark Bini said, according to the Daily News.

Pugh’s attorney, Eric Creizman, said Pugh is being prosecuted strictly for his thoughts and that he had no connections or way to actually join the terror group, the Daily News reported.

“In this country we don’t punish people for their thoughts,” Creizman said.

Pugh faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.