A US court sentenced a US soldier to 25 years in Hawaii for trying to help an al-Qaeda organization that had earlier declared his allegiance to him.
According to the Justice Department, Ekika Kang, 35, will remain under surveillance for at least 20 years on his release from prison.
"Kang's pledge to defend the United States as an element of our army, but he betrayed his country by pledging allegiance to the organization and trying to send documents to him," US Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security John Demers said in a statement.
According to US authorities, Kang, who was described as an idealistic and nomadic soldier, began in early 2016 to get close to the hard-line ideology and regularly watched his online propaganda.
He also told prosecutors that he had planned to commit a terrorist act targeting the Christmas market in Honolulu or the barracks where he worked.
The soldier, who underwent extensive combat training, was transferred in the summer of 2017 to documents and military equipment for FBI agents who presented themselves as intermediaries for a sympathetic organization, supplying them with small drones and military equipment.
On another occasion, he provided two secret FBI agents, one pretending to be a high-ranking commander and the other a hardline militant, with a two-hour combat training session to improve combat and shooting skills.
Kang was arrested after he swore allegiance to the hard-line organization during a ceremony staged by the alleged leader.
"This is the first case in Hawaii where a person has been found guilty of providing material support for terrorism," said Sean Kaul, a special agent in charge of the FBI in Honolulu.
"This should be a reminder that even though we are 2,500 miles from the American mainland, these crimes can happen everywhere."
According to local media, Kang grew up in an abusive family and his father suffered from mental health problems. Two former US military members also testified that he had mental health problems and could be easily affected.
