A man from Houston is facing significant federal charges because he is said to have helped ISIS and planned violent attacks. People say that extremist messaging was linked to years of secret activity that was made public by the case.
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Anas Said, a 28-year-old man from Houston, was arrested on November 8 for reportedly trying to give material support to the Islamic State (ISIS) and planning violent attacks in the United States.
The FBI said on November 14 that Said had been arrested and that he had been being watched since 2017 because of his extremist actions.According to court papers, Said said he wanted to carry out an attack like the ones that happened on September 11, 2001.
Reports say he offered his home as a safe place for ISIS members to stay and talked about plans to attack local military recruiting sites. Investigators found proof of what he did online, such as making and sharing ISIS material on several social media accounts. Said is said to have stated that he looked into ways to make explosives and used cell phones as remote detonators.Said pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in his first court appearance.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani stressed how serious the charges were, saying that Said's acts could have caused a lot of violence in Houston. Since the recent rise in violence in the Middle East, especially the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, Said's extremist behavior has become much worse, according to the officials.
Said could get up to 20 years in federal jail if he is found guilty. His lawyer said that the main thing that the charges are about is support through propaganda, not actual plans for violence.
The case shows how worried people are about domestic terrorism and how dedicated the FBI is to stopping possible threats.
