A Houston man the FBI arrested this month and charged with providing material support to ISIS allegedly created a portfolio of online propaganda for the terrorist group and researched how to build an explosive belt, according to new court filings.
Anas Said was arrested on November 8 after a years-long investigation during which the FBI interviewed him multiple times, executed a search warrant on his home and devices, and received information from Meta that allegedly showed he was behind 11 Facebook accounts that posted pro-ISIS material. According to a motion prosecutors recently filed in the case, which was first reported by Court Watch and 404 Media, the 28-year-old “repeatedly expressed his desire to travel overseas to fight for ISIS” and “has spent time planning and discussing the commission of violent attacks he desires to perpetrate, including in the Houston area.”
Agents had been tracking Said since 2017 after he allegedly placed an order for stickers with pro-ISIS symbols and phrases. They interviewed him at least five times between January 2018 and March 2019, when he claimed he no longer consumed ISIS propaganda and “only used the internet for schoolwork and watching sports,” according to the motion.
But after receiving information from Meta in October 2023 about Said’s alleged Facebook activity, the FBI obtained search warrants and seized his electronic devices, on which investigators allegedly found encrypted messages documenting his propaganda work on behalf of ISIS. Among the messages, the FBI allegedly uncovered communications between Said and a person claiming to be the “number 2” designer for ISIS who provided Said feedback on his propaganda images and videos.
After his arrest, Said allegedly “readily admitted” to the FBI that he created ISIS propaganda and said that he had considered purchasing a gun and killing U.S. military personnel.
In their motion requesting pre-trial detention, prosecutors argued that Said and his family told investigators on multiple occasions that they would return to Lebanon, where they had previously lived if they were allowed. Members of Said’s family, who had previously reported his behavior to authorities, also allegedly told the FBI that they were worried about his pro-ISIS beliefs and violent behavior.
Said allegedly had online conversations with an undercover FBI employee in which he discussed different methods for traveling to the Middle East and joining ISIS.
At other times, he allegedly discussed attacking nearby military recruiting centers with the undercover agent and said that ISIS “brothers” had attempted to enter Texas to kill former president George W. Bush.
