Ex-Michigan National Guard member accused of planning ISIS-inspired attack at Army base
May 14 (UPI) -- A former member of Michigan's Army National Guard has been charged with planning to carry out an Islamic State-inspired mass attack Tuesday on a U.S. Army facility near Detroit, though it was thwarted, according to court records released Wednesday.
The Justice Department said Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested Tuesday. He is facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and distributing information related to a destructive device at the Detroit Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, or TACOM, in Warren. It is known as the Detroit Arsenal,
TACOM's headquarters manages U.S. Army's ground and support systems enterprise and the Army's related industrial base capabilities. It was the first manufacturing plant for mass production of tanks in the United States in 1941.
In April, he communicated with two people "purporting to be fellow ISIS supporters but instead they were undercover law enforcement officers, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
Said told them he had devised and formulated plans to conduct a mass shooting at the Army base.
The undercover officers said Said and others intended to carry out Said's plan at the direction of ISIS.
Said's details of the attack plan were: armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, a drone flying over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, undercover employees trained on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails to use in the attack, how to enter TACOM and which building to target.
Screenshots from videos in which Said allegedly pledged loyalty to the leader of ISIS and in front of an ISIS flag were included in the complaint.
On Tuesday, the scheduled day of the attack, Said was arrested after he traveled near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan, the FBI alleges.
He was to make a court appearance Wednesday in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney's Office wants Said held in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and a risk he will flee.
In September 2022, the Melvindale resident enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard. He attended basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia, according to the complaint. After completing training, he reported to Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory and was discharged in December 2024, according to the complaint.
The reason for his discharge wasn't listed in the complaint.
"This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS," Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans."
He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each charge.
"ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans," U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement. "Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime -- it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism."
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case.
Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement: "The arrest of this former soldier is a sobering reminder of the importance of our counterintelligence efforts to identify and disrupt those who would seek to harm our nation.
"We urge all soldiers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their chain of command, as the safety and security of our Army and our nation depends on our collective efforts to prevent insider threats."
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