Prosecutors say Pugh was stopped at a Turkish airport in January 2015 carrying a laptop with information on Turkey- Syria border crossing points. They say the laptop also contained 180 jihadist propaganda videos, including footage of a beheading.
Prosecutors cited a letter Pugh wrote to his wife saying there were only two possible outcomes for him: "Victory or martyr."
Pugh's 2016 conviction was the first verdict from more than 70 cases the government brought against Americans accused of trying to support the militant group.