The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced on Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a man from Houston, Texas, who allegedly attempted to support ISIS and planned a terrorist attack in the United States.
In a Thursday press release, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani and FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams Jr. announced that 28-year-old Anas Said had been indicted for “attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
Thursday’s press release noted that Said was arrested on November 8, remained in custody, and was scheduled for a detention hearing with U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray in Houston on Thursday afternoon.
“According to court documents, multiple social media accounts linked to Said contained messages and posts that allegedly revealed that Said supported ISIS and the violent attacks carried out in its name,” the press release stated. “Law enforcement executed searches of Said and his residence, vehicle and electronic devices. According to court documents, analysis of the seized devices ultimately revealed Said’s activities relating to the creation and dissemination of propaganda on behalf of ISIS.”
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If Said is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, according to law enforcement officials.
According to Fox News, Williams revealed that Said was arrested at his apartment complex after FBI agents executed a search warrant last week. The suspect reportedly did not comply with the FBI agents and smashed his cell phone during the incident.
Williams also revealed that Said admitted he offered his residence as a sanctuary for ISIS terrorists, researched how to attack local military recruiting centers, bragged that he would have committed a “9/11-style” attack on U.S. soil if he had enough resources, and tried to produce propaganda for ISIS.
Following Said’s arrest, FBI Houston released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “We stopped a potential terrorist attack from happening right here in Houston! Any day we can publicly say that is a good day.”
According to Fox News, Said was interviewed by the FBI four times in 2018 due to sticker purchases the suspect made, which featured ISIS propaganda. Court documents show Said told the FBI in 2019 that he “no longer consumed radical Islamic propaganda and only used the internet for schoolwork and for watching sports.”
However, last year, the FBI received information from Meta “regarding 11 Facebook accounts used by the Defendant that showed he continued to support ISIS and the violent attacks carried out in its name,” according to court documents.
