Anas Said, a 28-year-old Texas resident, was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of planning to carry out terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in the US under the direction of ISIS.
According to the FBI statement, Said was arrested at his home following a covert investigation that revealed he was creating and distributing content from the ISIS organization and even offered his home as a shelter for ISIS operatives.
After his arrest, Said told FBI agents that he had tried several times to travel to other countries to join ISIS, and even declared that he would return to Lebanon if released from custody. He also said during the investigation that he "researched locations, layouts, and security measures at synagogues and the Israeli Consulate in Houston and said he intended to confront the head of a Jewish organization to stop funding Israel. If the head of the organization refused, the defendant would attack him."
Said's brother and mother told investigators that he continued to consume ISIS propaganda materials. "He openly admitted that he wants to fight against supporters of Israel and kill them," said Said's brother.
In one of the messages he sent to an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter, Said wrote that "Brother, if I lived alone, you would have heard that I conducted an operation like September 11. But my family is with me, and I don't want to get them into trouble."
Said's attorney, Balimer Zuniga, told Fox that Said was born in the US but emigrated with his family to Lebanon at a young age. In 2014, he returned to the US.
"Despite Said's alleged crimes, he doesn't have negative feelings towards the US. I wouldn't say that at all. I think he's definitely enthusiastic about defending his Islamic religion, but I don't think he harbors any special animosity towards the US itself," Zuniga said.
