The FBI revealed they apprehended a Houston man who allegedly manufactured ISIS propaganda and aspired to undertake a terror attack akin to 9/11 on American soil.
Houston man arrested
Anas Said, 28, was arrested last week right outside his Houston apartment. When agents approached Said and his brother at their apartment complex with commands to cooperate, he reportedly resisted.
Instead of complying, he flung his phone, breaking it, and tried to flee from law enforcement.
Post-arrest, Said allegedly confessed to federal agents about multiple attempts to join ISIS and noted his willingness to relocate to Lebanon if released.
He also confessed to offering his residence as a covert refuge for ISIS operatives, according to a court-filed detention memo.
The FBI’s Houston office stated that Said admitted planning violent acts within the U.S., contemplating firearm purchases, investigating military recruitment offices, and doing reconnaissance at a specific site in Houston.
Said also considered confronting military members near his workplace, questioning their support for Israel or involvement in Afghanistan or Iraq, with potential lethal consequences if they answered yes.
Suspect long on FBI’s radar
Court records indicate the FBI’s awareness of Said’s ISIS allegiance dates back to 2017, following his order of ISIS-related stickers.
Said has claimed his belief in ISIS’s ideology took root in 2015, after returning to the U.S. from Lebanon.
Despite telling the FBI he had been abstaining from ISIS propaganda, recent an investigation uncovered that in 2023 and early 2024 Said used several Facebook accounts to endorse ISIS and its violent mission, as per court documentation.
Following his capture, Said purportedly detailed to investigators his reconnaissance efforts on Houston synagogues and the Israeli Consulate, with intentions to confront the leader of a Jewish organization to cease funding Israel.
Prosecutors allege that Said threatened to assault this leader if their financial support of the country continued.
Interviews with Said’s relatives revealed his persistent consumption of ISIS material, with his brother disclosing Said’s open acknowledgment of his intent to combat and kill those supporting Israel.
Prosecutors assert that Said was prolific in distributing and creating ISIS content online, even establishing an encrypted chat group for followers of the terrorist organization.
In communication with an undercover FBI agent, Said allegedly proclaimed, “Brother, if I was living alone, you would have heard that I conducted an operation like 9/11. But my family is with me and I don’t want to put them in trouble.”
FBI celebrates capture of Houston man planning terror attack
FBI Special Agent Douglas Williams announced that Said confessed to studying methods for executing a terrorist attack, particularly targeting local military recruitment centers.
“Today is a great day. We’ve taken a suspected terrorist off the streets of Houston,” Williams declared.
Authorities further claim Said attempted to offer his west Houston apartment to ISIS members and produced extremist propaganda.
During a press briefing alongside Williams, U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said that despite Said’s American citizenship, he spent a significant amount of his childhood in Lebanon.
“We stopped a potential terrorist attack from happening right here in Houston. Any day we can publicly say that is a good day,” the FBI’s Houston office concluded.
Said faces charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS. A conviction could see him imprisoned for up to 20 years and fined up to $250,000.
Said’s defense attorney, Baldemar Zuniga, argued his client lacks the means or capacity to pose a real threat to Houston or the wider American public.
“I will tell you directly that if he is the biggest local threat to our national security, then I am sleeping pretty good at night, because I just don’t think my client has the capacity to carry out any type of terrorist activity plan anything,” Zuniga told KPRC 2.
In Said’s recent court appearance—his first since the arrest—it was disclosed that he initially denied ISIS connections in 2017, yet more recent interviews revealed a shift in his intentions following awareness of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
“He admitted to wanting to use explosives to commit a mass killing here in Houston. He offered his home as a safe sanctuary to ISIS operatives,” stated FBI Special Agent Douglas Williams Jr.
