Detail

A Houston man was arrested by the FBI this month on charges of providing material support to ISIS, according to court files. Created a complete online propaganda portfolio for the terrorist group and researched ways to make explosive beltsChannel 24 reports with reference to 404 Media.

Anas Saeed was arrested on November 8 after a years-long investigation in which the FBI questioned him repeatedly, obtained a search warrant for his home and devices, and sought information from Meta that allegedly implicated him. He is behind 11 Facebook accounts that posted material supporting ISIS.

According to prosecutors’ recently filed motion in the case, the 28-year-old man “repeatedly expressed his desire to travel abroad to fight for ISIS” and “spent his time planning and discussing violent attacks he wanted to carry out in the Houston area.”

Agents had been tracking Saeed since 2017 after he ordered stickers containing symbols and phrases supporting ISIS. They questioned him at least five times between January 2018 and March 2019, when he claimed that he no longer propagated ISIS propaganda and “only used the internet to do his schoolwork and watch sports.”

• However, in October 2023, after receiving information from Meta about Saeed’s alleged Facebook activity, the FBI obtained search warrants and seized his electronic devices. Coded messages documenting his propaganda efforts on behalf of ISIS.
• Among the messages, the FBI allegedly discovered correspondence between Saeed and a man who claimed to be ISIS’s “number 2” designer and provided Saeed with comments on propaganda images and videos.
• On other occasions, he allegedly spoke of attacks on nearby recruiting centers and said that ISIS “brothers” were trying to infiltrate Texas to kill former President George W. Bush.

After his arrest, Saeed is said to have “immediately confessed” to the FBI that he had prepared ISIS propaganda material and that he was considering buying weapons and killing American soldiers.

Prosecutors argued in their request for pretrial detention that Said and his family repeatedly told investigators they would return to Lebanon, where they previously lived, if allowed. Saeed’s family members, who had previously reported his behavior to authorities, also allegedly told the FBI they were concerned about his pro-Islamic beliefs and aggressive behavior.