The US Catholic ex-cop who tried to join ISIS

An American who tried to join bloodthirsty ISIS terrorists in Syria after washing out as a cop and serving a stint in prison was busted at Kennedy Airport last month, a new report said today.

Don Morgan, 44, a Catholic-born North Carolinian who once dreamed of joining the Army’s special forces, instead dedicated himself to a murderous band of jihadis bent on killing Americans, NBC News reported.

“My reason for the support of ISIS is because they’ve proven time and time again to put Islamic law as the priority and the establishment of an Islamic state as the goal,” Morgan told the network during an interview in Lebanon earlier this summer.

But days later on Aug. 2, the violent lunatic — who served two years in prison after firing a gun into a crowded restaurant — was busted on a warrant by the FBI at JFK and arrested on a weapons charge for trying to sell a rifle online.

During a later court appearance, prosecutors noted that he had ranted on Twitter and Facebook about his newfound devotion to the militants’ twisted ideology.

[ISIS has] proven time and time again to put Islamic law as the priority and the establishment of an Islamic state as the goal.

 - Don Morgan

Morgan cooked up an elaborate plan to get into Syria from Turkey to join the Islamic State — which has killed thousands as it has rampaged across Syria and Iraq — but was stopped at the airport in Istanbul.

“It was planned,” he said of his attempt.

“I purchased the ticket with the intent of entering to Syria, either joining up with medical and food aid convoys or directly with Islamic State,” he said.

The loser turned to radical Islam after failing to get through National Guard boot camp so he could join the fight in Kuwait during Desert Storm.

He later was fired from his job as a deputy sheriff for a local department in North Carolina after just 18 months on the job.

He told NBC his life spiraled out of control after he was fired and that he started drinking, fighting and partying before his stint behind bars.

And despite his devotion to the Islamic State — which posted YouTube videos of the gruesome beheadings of two US journalists in recent weeks — he said he does not feel like a terrorist.

“I would not classify myself as a radical, but by Western definition I would be classified as a radical,” he said. “I just consider myself to be a practicing Muslim.”

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Militant Islamist fighters parade through the Islamic State's stronghold in Raqqa, Syria on June 30.
Militant Islamist fighters parade through the Islamic State's stronghold in Raqqa, Syria, on June 30.Reuters
Islamic State fighters in Syria
Islamic State fighters in SyriaReuters
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ISIS fighters in a military parade in Syria.
ISIS fighters in a military parade in SyriaReuters
ISIS fighters celebrate in the city of Mosul.Reuters
An Islamic State militant waves the jihadi flag during a parade in Iraq in June.Reuters
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Demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State chants as they carry the jihadi flag in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul.
Demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State chants as they carry the jihadi flag in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul.AP
Islamic State militants in Iraq
Islamic State militants in IraqReuters
Militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with truckloads of captured Iraqi soldiers after taking over a base in Tikrit, Iraq.
Militants from the al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State with truckloads of captured Iraqi soldiers after taking over a base in TikritAP
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Islamic State fighter parade through Raqqa, Syria on June 30.
Islamic State fighters parade through Raqqa, Syria, on June 30.AP
A resident of Tabqa city touring the streets on a motorcycle waves an Islamist flag in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base, in nearby Raqqa city, on Aug. 24.Reuters
A militant Islamist fighter cheers as he takes part in a parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Ragga province.
A militant Islamist fighter cheers as he takes part in a parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Ragga province.Reuters
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