Current:Home > Back20-year-old Jordanian national living in Texas allegedly "trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack," feds say-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
20-year-old Jordanian national living in Texas allegedly "trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack," feds say
View Date:2024-12-23 22:44:46
Washington — A 20-year-old Jordanian national living in Texas allegedly trained with others of a "radical mindset" to "possibly commit an attack" after he illegally obtained firearms, according to federal investigators.
Court documents reveal Sohaib Abuayyash — who at one point traveled to the U.S. on a Palestinian passport — was arrested in Houston on Oct. 19, after investigators said he had been "conducting physical training" and "trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack."
Abuayyash is currently charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by someone with a nonimmigrant visa. Details described in court documents allege he spoke of martyrdom in support of a religious cause.
"He has viewed specific and detailed content posted by radical organizations on the internet including lessons on how to construct bombs or explosive devices," U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan wrote when she ordered the defendant detained last week, pending trial, after a sealed hearing on the matter: "Defendant has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths."
Abuayyash's public defender declined to comment.
During congressional testimony on Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray mentioned a case in which an arrested man in Houston had been "studying how to build bombs and posted online about his support for killing Jews."
Multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News that Wray was referencing Abuayyash's case. The defendant's lawyer did not respond to CBS News' requests for comment.
Abuayyash entered the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa that expired in 2019, according to a court order, and he has since applied for asylum and obtained work authorization.
Prosecutors alleged he unlawfully possessed firearms while living in Texas and was seen on multiple social media videos firing an AR-style rifle at a firing range. Although the footage was accompanied by a caption claiming the firearm being fired was an "airsoft gun," the FBI contends "the guns…are firearms as defined by federal law and not airsoft guns."
Investigators say the defendant, along with others, visited a handful of firing ranges. Security camera footage from one of those facilities obtained by the FBI purportedly showed Abuayyash and an unnamed individual possessing and firing multiple rifles and pistols, according to charging documents.
In one instance at another facility on Sept. 24, security footage allegedly shows Abuayyash being congratulated by individuals identified as "MD" and "AJ" in court documents for hitting his target that "appears to be a human silhouette and multiple bullet holes can be observed in the target."
The Justice Department asked a federal court to detain Abuayyash pending trial and according to court records, a hearing was held under seal on Oct. 24. According to the judge's order that detained him, Abuayyash "has made statements that he wants to go to Gaza to fight."
While much of the charged conduct described in court papers occurred before Hamas' attack on Israel earlier this month, the FBI director referenced Abuayyash's case as part of a broader warning to lawmakers of the evolving threat landscape the U.S. faces as a result of the attacks and Israel's response.
"Here in the United States, our most immediate concern is that violent extremists—individuals or small groups—will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives," Wray said Tuesday, "That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities."
Wray said the FBI was not tracking any "imminent credible threat from a foreign terrorist organization."
- In:
- Jordan
veryGood! (78185)
Related
- Digital Finance Research Institute Introduce
- American Climate Video: The Driftwood Inn Had an ‘Old Florida’ Feel, Until it Was Gone
- California’s Car Culture Is Slowing the State’s Emissions Cuts
- Video shows shark grabbing a man's hand and pulling him off his boat in Florida Everglades
- Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
- Missing Florida children found abandoned at Wisconsin park; 2 arrested
- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Winery Court Battle Heats Up: He Calls Sale of Her Stake Vindictive
- 4 Ways to Cut Plastic’s Growing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- A growing and aging population is forcing Texas counties to seek state EMS funding
- Vanderpump Rules Reunion Pt. 2 Has More Scandoval Bombshells & a Delivery for Scheana Shay
Ranking
- 'Yellowstone' premiere: Record ratings, Rip's ride and Billy Klapper's tribute
- Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Break Silence on Duggar Family Secrets Docuseries
- Richard Allen confessed to killing Indiana girls as investigators say sharp object used in murders, documents reveal
- States Are Using Social Cost of Carbon in Energy Decisions, Despite Trump’s Opposition
- New Mexico secretary of state says she’s experiencing harassment after the election
- International Day of Climate Action Spreads Across 179 Countries
- 10 Giant Companies Commit to Electric Vehicles, Sending Auto Industry a Message
- American Climate Video: The Creek Flooded Nearly Every Spring, but This Time the Water Just Kept Rising
Recommendation
-
'Dangerous and unsanitary' conditions at Georgia jail violate Constitution, feds say
-
Supreme Court rejects independent state legislature theory in major election law case
-
Conservative businessman Tim Sheehy launches U.S. Senate bid for Jon Tester's seat
-
IRS whistleblower in Hunter Biden probe says he was stopped from pursuing investigative leads into dad or the big guy
-
Jake Paul's only loss led him to retool the team preparing him to face Mike Tyson
-
Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey Engaged to Singer Phem
-
Court dismisses Ivanka Trump from New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit
-
How Al Pacino’s Pregnant Girlfriend Noor Alfallah Is Relaxing During 3rd Trimester