NEW YORK — A former U.S. Army soldier and self-declared traitor who plotted to kill members of his overseas platoon was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Friday — with a judge calling his bigoted beliefs “repugnant” and his regret implausible.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods handed down the weighty sentence at a packed hearing in Manhattan Federal Court attended by several service members.
Describing the baby-faced former soldier’s betrayal as “corrosive,” Judge Woods said 24-year-old Ethan Melzer’s crimes of aiding people who wish America harm warranted an exceptionally long prison term.
“He betrayed the U.S.A. He betrayed the U.S. military,” Woods said. He later added, “He betrayed his comrades in arms. He tried to have them murdered.”
To realize the goals of “Order of the Nine Angles,” or O9A, the Neo-Nazi, white nationalist, antisemitic and Satanic group of which he was a member, Melzer sought to provoke jihadi terrorist groups to attack his U.S. Army unit and “cause the demise of western civilization,” Woods said.
Melzer pleaded guilty in June to leaking details via encrypted messaging apps to O9A and an alleged al-Qaida member about the location and armaments of a military installation in Turkey in the leadup to his unit’s deployment there after weeks of training and classified briefings.
He shared the location, number of soldiers on the base, and their defense and surveillance capabilities.
“(Y)ou just gotta understand that currently I am risking my literal free life to give you all this,” Melzer wrote in one message, according to court filings, telling the recipient he was “expecting results.”
The judge said that Melzer’s crimes shouldn’t be minimized because they were committed online.
“This was not a lark. This was not merely time spent in the dark in an internet rabbit hole,” Woods said.
The jurist said he had considered that Melzer grew up in his native Louisville, Kentucky, under troubling circumstances and around a lot of racism. His single mom struggled with alcoholism and was a victim of domestic violence.
“In the midst of that fraught environment, Melzer also realized he was gay,” Judge Woods said, noting that Melzer proceeded down a destructive path of drug dealing and substance abuse after he dropped out of high school in the 10th grade.
Melzer’s background did not justify his actions, the judge said.
Woods said the fact the attack never happened “was not for a lack of trying,” and said he didn’t buy that Melzer has been rehabilitated.
“I frankly do not believe it,” the judge said. “Mr. Melzer has demonstrated his commitment to his repugnant ideology.”
Before the sentence was given Melzer told the court he was sorry.
“I still regret everything I did,” he said. “(I) wish I could say I’m sorry to my platoon,” he continued, adding that he wanted to prove he could be a productive member of society “and not what they’re trying to make of me.”
Woods also heard from several of Melzer’s former comrades, who spoke about the consequences of what he did to national security.
Military intelligence officer Capt. Joshua Krause said Melzer sharing information with “sworn enemies” corroded trust among Melzer’s former Army paratroopers and affected key relationships with U.S. allies.
“Our allies and enemies are very aware of this case,” Krause said, noting that Melzer’s disclosures continue to put military members at risk. “The Department of Defense can’t just pick up and move a base.”
Capt. Jacob Ferris said Melzer’s betrayals were a massive shock to many he was close to in his platoon called “The Cowboys,” which has since been labeled “as a platoon that had a terrorist.”
“None of us saw this coming,” Ferris said.“Tensions were high.”
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Melzer told the FBI he was a traitor when he was arrested. He said the sentence represented justice served.
“He used his membership in the military to pursue an appalling goal: the brutal murder of his fellow U.S. service members in a carefully plotted ambush,” Williams said.
“Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect.”
