The FBI has arrested a Houston man for alleged ties to ISIS, a terrorist organization in the United States

A Texas man was taken into FBI custody Thursday after authorities said he tried to support ISIS and planned terrorist attacks on the U.S. mainland — all from its Houston base.

Authorities say Anas Said, 28, was looking for ways to carry out acts of violence on behalf of the Islamic State in the Houston area. He was charged with trying to help a terrorist group with material things.

Sid was arrested last week at his apartment, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams.

Williams said that during his arrest, Said admitted to researching how to attack military recruitment centers and offered his home as a base for ISIS operatives, who boasted that he would attack “9/11-style” if he had the resources. and trying to produce ISIS propaganda.

“We stopped a possible terrorist attack here in Houston! Any day we can publicly say that’s a good day,” FBI Houston said.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in federal court in Houston.

READ DOJ DETENTION MEMO ALLEGING CERTAIN CONVERSATIONS – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Said has been on the FBI’s radar since the agency received a tip in 2017 that he bought two stickers: “one contains an image of the Dome of the Rock2 with an ISIS flag covering the image, and the other shows a white silhouette of a man holding a gun.” with the caption, “Conquering the Nation of Islam.”

“During an interview conducted on or about January 29, 2018, the Defendant admitted that both stickers were intended to show support for ISIS,” even though he was not in favor of killing people in the name of ISIS at the time, according to the arrest memo. allegations against Said. Said began espousing the ideology of ISIS in 2015 when his family returned to the US from Lebanon.

In a 2019 FBI interview, Said said he “no longer used radical Islamic propaganda and only used the Internet for schoolwork and watching sports,” according to the memo.

That was not true, according to the DOJ.

“On or about October 18, 2023, pursuant to legal process, the FBI obtained information from Meta Platforms, Inc. (‘Meta’) regarding 11 Facebook accounts operated by the Defendant indicating that he continues to support the -ISIS and the violent attacks that occur in its name,” according to the DOJ.

His family members “expressed their concerns” in FBI interviews, and “subsequent analysis of the Defendant’s electronic materials revealed numerous requests for encrypted messages containing records of his efforts to create and disseminate propaganda glorifying the ongoing violence of ISIS, evidence supporting the material support charge indicted . in cases,” said the Department.

Sid allegedly refused to comply with FBI agents who issued a search warrant for him on Nov. 8, then smashed his cell phone.