US veteran pleads not guilty to trying to help Islamic State
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A UW Air Force veteran pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to trying to provide support for the Islamic State militant group.
Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, of Neptune, New Jersey, entered his plea at a hearing in the federal court in Brooklyn, New York. US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis told attorneys to be ready for trial in July.
If convicted, Pugh could face up to 35 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, Pugh, 47, a former avionics instrument system specialist in the Air Force, tried to join Islamic State in January by traveling from Egypt to Turkey and trying to cross the border into Syria.
Turkish authorities sent him back to Egypt, which detained him and subsequently deported him to the United States, prosecutors said.
