Hawaii Soldier to Plead Guilty to Trying to Help ISIS

A Hawaii-based Army soldier accused of attempting to support ISIS will plead guilty, one of his lawyers tells the AP. Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang has agreed to plead guilty, but Alexander Silvert, an assistant federal defender representing him, won't say what charges he'll be pleading to. "We've agreed on a sentence," Silvert says, declining to elaborate. He referred further questions to Kang's other attorney, Birney Bervar, who couldn't immediately be reached. Court documents allege Kang provided classified military information to undercover agents whom he believed were part of the Islamic State group.

Kang is scheduled to withdraw his not guilty plea Thursday, court records show. A plea agreement hasn't been filed in court yet. A confidential informant told authorities Kang watched videos depicting beheadings and other violence in his room for hours every day, according to court documents. Kang told the informant that if he became an ISIS member, he would be a suicide bomber and attack Schofield Barracks, a sprawling Army base outside Honolulu, according to an affidavit. When Kang met with undercover agents at a home in Honolulu, he pledged allegiance to the group and kissed an ISIS flag, according to court documents. Kang has been detained without bail since his arrest last year.

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