An American citizen residing in Houston could serve up to 15 years in federal custody and incur $500,000 in monetary penalties following a guilty plea entered July 24, federal officials announced Monday, according to JNS.
The charges stem from concealing assistance to ISIS and misleading law enforcement officers.
The 30-year-old defendant, Anas Said, acknowledged harboring violent ambitions, confessing to stating, “I am thinking and hoping to kill the infidels with a weapon and as many people as possible in order to heal my heart," according to statements released by the US Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors noted that the accused scrubbed personal identifying markers from self-produced video content promoting ISIS and subsequently lied to investigators regarding weapon ownership.
A federal judge is scheduled to deliver the formal sentence on Oct. 16.
Said was arrested by the FBI in late 2024 on suspicion of planning to carry out terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in the US under the direction of ISIS.
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 terrorists.
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."