The lawyer for an Army soldier accused of pledging his support and allegiance to the Islamic State says the government knew or should have known that Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Erik Kang was suffering from mental illness but, instead of helping him, continued to exploit Kang’s condition until he committed a crime.

“As far as (Kang) being a danger, the only danger was as a result of the government pouring gasoline on the fire of his mental illness,” Kang’s court-appointed lawyer Birney Bervar said Thursday.

The FBI arrested Kang on Saturday, following a yearlong investigation, on suspicion of terrorism and connections with the Islamic State terrorist group. The FBI said Kang had exhibited an inclination to violence. Kang was charged with providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

Bervar said Kang, according to the FBI, only communicated with undercover agents and never made contact with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Bervar did not use the word “entrapment,” but, in response to reporters’ questions, he said that’s a good assessment.

Bervar made the comments after a hearing in which he told U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield that Kang agreed to remain in custody and does not oppose the government’s request to deny him the opportunity to post bail or bond.

Federal prosecutors said Kang should remain in custody while his case is pending for the safety of the community because he is charged with a serious crime and poses a serious risk of threat, injury or intimidation of prospective witnesses against him. They also said Kang poses a substantial risk of fleeing to avoid prosecution.

Bervar said he told federal prosecutors that Kang will not oppose their request to keep him in custody before the government filed court documents in support of its request.

The documents include photographs of what the government says are Kang kissing and embracing the Islamic State flag, pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State and teaching an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic State fighter combat techniques and firearm tactics.

The government says the FBI affidavit and photographs illustrate Kang’s zealous support of ISIS, one of the world’s most violent terrorist groups.

Bervar said Kang, 34, was a decorated air traffic controller with 10 years of service with the Army when he deployed to Afghanistan. “That appears to be the turning point, the deployment in 2011, when things started going downhill,” he said.

The FBI said the Army revoked Kang’s security clearance in 2012 for threatening other service members and arguing pro-ISIS views, but reinstated his clearance the following year after Kang complied with certain requirements stemming from an investigation.

Bervar said there is no mention of whether the Army had Kang evaluated for mental illness or provided him any mental health treatment. He said the first thing he needs to do is have Kang evaluated.

2 Middle East tours

Kang was born and raised in Waimanalo, graduated from Kaiser High School in 2001 and joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks. He served two tours in the Middle East — the first in Iraq and the second in Afghanistan.

His father, Clifford Kang, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, was at the hearing Thursday. The elder Kang has said he was concerned his son might have suffered from post- traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after his return from Afghanistan. “He was withdrawn,” Clifford Kang said this week.

The Associated Press quoted Ikaika Kang’s former Army bunkmate Dustin Lyles as saying that Kang believed the moon landing was faked, questioned the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and thought the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job coordinated by the U.S. government.

Lyles, a medically retired soldier, bunked with Kang for a month in 2013 during military training. The two were friends for several years before Lyles left the Army and they lost touch, according to the AP.

Lyles said Kang’s arrest came as a shock and that he never heard Kang express support for the enemy. They shared sleeping quarters, ate together and practiced mixed martial arts. “If I had known that then … I wouldn’t even have talked to him after that,” Lyles said.

Lyles said he and Kang debated about conspiracies, including that 9/11 was staged by the U.S. to spark wars in the Middle East. Kang aspired to become a pro MMA fighter, Lyles said.

Kang was stationed at Schofield Barracks at the time of his arrest. With help from a Veterans Administration loan, Kang purchased a condo in May 2016 in Royal Kunia on Oahu, according to property records.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.