A former Boy Scout arrested in New Jersey while boarding a plane bound for Yemen to join ISIS in the war-torn country was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in federal prison.
James Bradley, 21, and his attorneys had asked for a sentence of time served in the jurisdiction, arguing that he was demoted through work he completed with a nonprofit group after his arrest in 2021. were victims of
But in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Judge Paul Engelmeyer said the request was a “complete non-starter.”
“I can’t predict the future, none of us can,” Angelmeyer said as he handed down the 11-year sentence, adding that nonprofit activists who “deradicalized” Bradley What, “there are no crystal balls.”
He added that it is difficult to ascertain the seriousness of the crime.
Federal prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence, arguing that Bradley was fully committed to joining a terrorist state when he was arrested — and to kill innocent Americans. wanted
“The defendant was willing to take up arms for ISIS in one way or another,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellan Laskey told Angelmayer at Thursday’s hearing.
Bradley also addressed the court, apologizing to his family and loved ones and insisting that he has fully recovered.
“I am really ashamed and sorry for what I have done,” he said. “I’m very different from James Bradley who was arrested two years ago.”
Before imposing the sentence, Engelmayer credited Bradley’s family and nonprofit employees who worked with him to loosen the grip of extremist ideologies.
He also briefly read letters submitted by Bradley’s friends and colleagues, including one from his former scoutmaster, who noted that the ISIS fighter was an Eagle Scout during his time in the organization. He got the highest position.
But the judge said he could not responsibly sentence Bradley to time. Engelmayer said he imposed the 11-year sentence in part because he did not believe Bradley would not reoffend or become radicalized in the future.
Bradley, of the Bronx, pleaded guilty in September in a deal with prosecutors to one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
After converting to Islam near the end of his senior year in high school in 2018, he was inspired by the terrorist group and began attending services at a mosque on the Upper East Side.
At the mosque, the teenager met Mohammad Dilawar Hussain, a radical who “groomed and radicalized James,” Bradley’s attorneys wrote in the sentencing filing.
He immersed himself in ISIS propaganda online for the next two years and eventually married Urwa Mathana, a fellow radical from Alabama, despite knowing her for only a few weeks.
The pair were arrested in Newark on March 31, 2021, on the gangplank of a cargo ship they had paid to board to bring them to Yemen and then carry weapons for the Islamic State.
Mathna has also pleaded guilty but has yet to face punishment.
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