Matt deGrood
Houston Chronicle
(TNS)
Authorities recently arrested a Houston man and accused him of posting online about killing Jewish people and researching how to build bombs, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress.
Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI in Houston, told the Chronicle that a man named Sohaib Abuayyash was the person referenced in Wray’s briefing. Hagan declined to answer additional questions about the accusations against Abuayyash, instead referring a reporter to court records, most of which had been sealed.
A person with that name had been charged on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm by an immigrant who had been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa, according to records filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Nonimmigrant visas are for foreign nationals who want to enter the country temporarily, often for tourism, businesses or higher education.
A redacted complaint alleges that the man was a 20-year-old from Jordan who is accused of contacting others with what they called a radical mindset. He is accused of conducting training with weapons and planning a possible attack.
Investigators in August 2023 connected the man with an Instagram video of someone firing multiple weapons, according to the complaint. But he was not eligible to legally possess a weapon.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice declined to provide more information about the case against Abuayyash beyond what was available in the unsealed court records.
Wray, in his Washington briefing, told elected officials that Hamas’ attacks on Israel could spur threats in the United States, according to CBS News. The top official cautioned that Hamas itself didn’t have the capability to coordinate attacks in the country.
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration, the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago,” Wray told the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee during a hearing on worldwide threats, according to the CBS article. “In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”
A public defender listed as representing Abuayyash declined to comment. Authorities arrested him Friday, court records show. It is unclear where he is being held.
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