Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel issued a major warning on Thursday after the FBI arrested a former Michigan Army National Guard member for planning a mass shooting on behalf of ISIS at a U.S. military base.
In a Thursday statement to Fox News, Patel said, “Let this be a warning: Anyone who targets our military or conspires with foreign terrorist organizations will be found, stopped and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I commend the men and women of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners for their continued dedication to protecting the American people.”
Patel’s warning came after the U.S. Justice Department announced on Wednesday that 19-year-old Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, a former Michigan Army National Guard member, had been arrested for trying to execute a plan to “conduct a mass-shooting at a U.S. military base in Warren, Michigan” on behalf of ISIS.
In a Thursday statement, Patel said he could “confirm reports that our FBI teams and partners foiled an attempted ISIS attack on one of our U.S. military bases in Warren, Michigan.” Patel added, “Our agents, intelligence teams, and partners acted quickly — and they saved lives. Well done to all on executing the mission.”
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In Wednesday’s press release, the Justice Department said that the 19-year-old suspect had told two undercover law enforcement officers about a plan he had created to carry out a mass shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility.
According to the Justice Department, the two undercover officials told Said in April that they were planning to “carry out Said’s plan at the direction of ISIS.”
“In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack, and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target,” the Justice Department said.
Said, who was arrested on Tuesday after launching a drone to support the “attack plan” near the U.S. military base, is currently facing up to 20 years in prison for each of the charges brought against him if he is convicted in court.
