- Title: Father of U.S. Army soldier arrested in Hawaii on terrorism charges speaks
- Date: 11th July 2017
- Summary: HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES (JULY 10, 2017) (REUTERS) SIGN OUTSIDE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
- Embargoed: 25th July 2017 08:01
- Keywords: soldier arrest U.S. Army IS court Clifford Kang terrorism charges Ikaika Kang ISIS Islamic State
- Location: HONOLULU and O'AHU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES
- City: HONOLULU and O'AHU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA0016P9V0AV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The father of a U.S. Army sergeant who was stationed in Hawaii and was charged with attempting to provide material support to Islamic State extremists said on Monday (July 10) he was shocked by the allegations as there was no indication that his only son had gone astray.
Ikaika Erik Kang, 34, an air traffic control specialist who also had extensive military training in hand-to-hand combat, was arrested by the FBI on Saturday following a year-long undercover probe, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
An FBI affidavit filed in court with the criminal complaint summarized a lengthy sting operation employing several undercover agents and other "confidential human sources" who posed as Islamic State operatives and sympathizers. As described in the affidavit, the sting drew to a climax as Kang swore a pledge of loyalty to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, then proceeded to make training videos for the extremist group, also known as ISIS, which has seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.
At a brief court appearance on Monday, he was presented with the charges against him and ordered to remain in federal custody pending a July 13 detention hearing. He entered no plea. Kang, who attained the rank of sergeant first class, served three overseas tours of duty - one each in South Korea (2002-03), Iraq (2010-11) and Afghanistan (2013-14), his Army service record shows. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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