A US Air Force veteran from New Jersey has been found guilty by a New York court of supporting ISIS and planning to travel to Syria to fight with the group. The accused is one of about 80 Americans the government has been trying to put away on the charges. Tairod Pugh, 48, a New Jersey native, stands guilty of providing material support to Islamic State (IS/ISIS, formerly ISIL) and obstruction of justice. He now potentially faces the maximum sentence of 35 years for the crime, after being found guilty by an anonymous jury of eight, the Wall Street Journal reports. The sentencing is scheduled for September 16. Pugh, who is a Muslim convert, served in the Air Force in the period from 1986 to 1990, the Justice Department said.Pugh was first caught trying to make it to Syria from Turkey in January of last year, but the former Air Force mechanic was intercepted by Turkish security and deported to the US, where the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force acquired a warrant and arrested him at his father’s house in Asbury Park, NJ soon thereafter. Pugh’s father appeared taken aback by the verdict. “I didn’t expect this,” he said after the hearing. Pugh’s attorney, Eric Creizman, added: “I feel bad for him and his family. I think the jury gave fair consideration to the evidence. I’m disappointed with the outcome.” But being the first to be successfully tried and convicted of the crime on US soil, Pugh’s case represents a high-profile victory, stretching back two years to a wide crackdown on IS supporters on home soil. It took the jury a week of testimony and seven hours to reach a verdict. “He was ready to die in the cause of terrorism, for ISIS,” Assistant US Attorney Mark Bini said in the opening remarks. “He decided he was going to join ISIS and support them with himself, with his body, with his skills as an airplane mechanic.” Brooklyn US Attorney Robert Capers added that the multi-agency effort to convict Pugh “underscores for the public the work it takes to react quickly to terrorist threats.” Capers’ office is also in charge of several other cases related to IS support by US citizens. He added that New York is “unfortunately… ground zero” for many such terrorist sympathizers. The investigation used Pugh’s internet records to build its case. The prosecution presented a large collection of search histories from his laptop and other devices, which strongly confirmed Pugh’s fascination with the terrorist group. He had downloaded more than 70 IS videos, as well as pictures of the group’s fighters; and his search history was chock-full of searches for things like “borders controlled by Islamic State.”