Latest news with #MichiganArmyNationalGuard
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kash Patel delivers fiery warning after FBI disrupts mass shooting terror plot targeting military
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel issued a fiery warning after the bureau disrupted a mass shooting plot at a military base on behalf of ISIS. Patel told Fox News Digital that any individual targeting the U.S. military or conspiring with foreign terrorist organizations will be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." The director's warning comes after a former Michigan Army National Guard member, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested for allegedly planning a mass shooting near the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) center at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan. Former Michigan Army National Guard Member Charged With Plotting Mass Shooting At Army Base On Behalf Of Isis "Let this be a warning: Anyone who targets our military or conspires with foreign terrorist organizations will be found, stopped and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Patel told Fox News Digital Thursday. "I commend the men and women of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and our law enforcement partners for their continued dedication to protecting the American people." Said "launched his drone in support of the attack plan" and told an undercover FBI agent in the lead-up to the foiled plot he recommended that "everyone have about seven magazines because you don't want to be in there and run out of ammo," according to officials. Read On The Fox News App Said is now facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years per count if convicted. Abbey Gate Terror Suspect's Mugshot Revealed As He Makes First Federal Court Appearance The Justice Department said that, in April, "two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said's plan at the direction of ISIS. "In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack and planning numerous details of the attack, including how to enter TACOM and which building to target." A criminal complaint stated that, around June 2024, Said started communicating with an undercover FBI agent who he thought was a fellow ISIS supporter. The complaint noted that Said enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard in September 2022 and attended basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia. He later reported to the Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory before being discharged around December 2024. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation into the case. "Our agents, intelligence teams, and partners acted quickly — and they saved lives," Patel wrote on X Tuesday. "Well done to all on executing the mission." Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report. Original article source: Kash Patel delivers fiery warning after FBI disrupts mass shooting terror plot targeting military
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
Neighbors react after Michigan man allegedly planned shooting at military base: "It's shocking and scary"
A former Michigan Army National Guard member is accused of attempting to carry out a mass shooting at a military base on behalf of the terrorist organization ISIS. CBS News Detroit knocked on the door of Ammar Said's home in Melvindale, but received no answer. Neighbors, however, spoke about how terrifying it was to discover what had been found. "It's shocking and scary, but yeah, I couldn't believe it. There was so many FBI and to know it's that close to your house is scary," said Robert Mazur from Melvindale. Said, 19, was arrested after officials foiled his alleged planned attack at the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command facility at the Detroit Arsenal. Javed Ali, a counterterrorism expert at the University of Michigan, told me that while this is shocking to most, it's unfortunately not uncommon. "To me, it's just the latest of these ISIS-inspired cases we've seen in Metro Detroit," said Ali. According to a criminal complaint, Said reportedly told two undercover officers of his plans for a mass shooting at the base, and allegedly provided them with armor-piercing ammunition and detailed plans, including surveillance of the base and training on how to enter the base and what to target. It's intelligence from the government that Ali said is both impressive and potentially life-saving to many. "This is just the reality of this lone offender lone wolf terrorism, it's very hard to stop, it's very hard to even find in the first place to make sure that the plot doesn't move forward," said Ali. Meanwhile, neighbors say they are thankful there was no attack. "Thank god we're safe. They caught him in time, and that's what matters," Ramona Webb said. Ann Messinger says she knew Said's father and that he's always been a nice man. "It's scary, it's very scary. I would've never dreamed of coming from that house; there are good people in that house," she said. Now, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating Said's case, and while most believe the 19-year-old was planning this attack alone, there are still many unanswered questions. "Is this person literally operating alone, or are they connected to other like-minded individuals? Is there a bigger network or group around them?" Ali said. In his first court appearance on Wednesday, Said consented to detention, and his preliminary exam is set for May 28th.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- New York Times
Ex-National Guardsman Planned to Attack U.S. Army Base for ISIS, U.S. Says
A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was charged on Tuesday with plotting to carry out a terrorist attack on a U.S. military base outside Detroit for the Islamic State using a drone, Molotov cocktails and armor-piercing ammunition, the F.B.I. said. The man, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested outside the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command in Warren, Mich., by federal agents, with whom he had been unknowingly discussing his plans since last June, according to a criminal complaint. Investigators said that Mr. Said, of Melvindale, Mich., had shared details about a planned mass shooting with two people he thought were fellow ISIS supporters, but were instead undercover F.B.I. agents recording their conversations. Mr. Said told them that he was 'fed up with this country" and had long desired to engage in a violent jihad, either by traveling to an ISIS-held territory abroad or carrying out an attack in the United States, the authorities said. While meeting with one of the undercover agents in November, Mr. Said mused that if he went to the Middle East, he would be able to kill only 'two, three, four other soldiers, but over here, it's like, it's a dream.' Around December, the National Guard discharged him. Mr. Said was charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device or explosive. The charges could bring up to 40 years in prison if he is convicted. Brig. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of the Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Said's arrest was a 'sobering reminder' of the importance of counterintelligence efforts. '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,' General Cox said. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Said, who was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Michigan on Wednesday, had a lawyer. Court records did not list one for him. A phone message left on Wednesday with the Federal Community Defender's office in Detroit was not immediately returned. In 2022, Mr. Said enlisted in the National Guard and completed initial basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia, the authorities said. Last July, about a month after Mr. Said had first spoken to one of the undercover agents, the F.B.I. secretly searched his iPhone when he gave it to National Guard personnel before boarding a military aircraft, investigators said. They found a Facebook exchange written in Arabic between Mr. Said and someone in the Palestinian territories, in which Mr. Said declared, 'I want to go for Jihad,' according to the F.B.I., which said that the other person had instructed him to use the encrypted messaging app Telegram to communicate further. One of those channels contained videos and images with ISIS flags, the complaint said. Last August, Mr. Said played a video of himself on his phone performing a 'bayah' pledge of loyalty to Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, the leader of ISIS, for one of the agents, the F.B.I. said. In a conversation with an F.B.I. informant that same month, Mr. Said boasted that he could assemble and disassemble an AR-15 or M4-style rifle with his 'eyes closed' and had learned about firearms, grenade throwing and land navigation, the complaint said. 'I wanted to train so that I know what I'm doing,' Mr. Said told one of the undercover agents, according to the F.B.I. 'I know how they think, and how they act, you know.' Last fall, Mr. Said told the undercover agents that he had flown a drone over the base outside Detroit to identify entry points and potential targets, investigators said. He also mentioned that he had visited stores to inspect firearms and military uniforms, and had purchased glass bottles to be used for Molotov cocktails, the complaint said. The undercover agents accompanied Mr. Said to a pawnshop in the area, where he asked to see assault-style weapons that were for sale, the F.B.I. said. 'I recommend everyone have about seven magazines because you don't want to be in there and run out of ammo,' he told the agents, according to the complaint. But as plans for the attack became more concrete, the F.B.I. said, the former guardsman grew suspicious. In December, the agents told Mr. Said that they had discovered an Apple AirTag in their car, which he acknowledged placing there, the authorities said. He told them that he just wanted to 'make sure' they were who they said they were, according to the complaint. In the conversations with the undercover agents, Mr. Said discussed how one of them should livestream the attack on a GoPro camera and mention Gaza and Palestine, investigators said. He also advised the agents that they should wait until they got inside the base to display an ISIS flag. 'If they see the flag, they know you are foe,' he told on the agents, according to the complaint. On Tuesday, Mr. Said was wearing all black when he left his home to go meet one of the undercover agents at a park in Dearborn, Mich., investigators said. The two of them then drove to the Army base in Warren, where, the authorities said, Mr. Said had launched his drone for the purposes of aerial surveillance before the attack. That's when law enforcement officers moved in and arrested him.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan man arrested for alleged plot to conduct mass shooting at Army base
A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard has been arrested after he allegedly tried to carry out a plan to conduct a mass shooting at a US military base in Michigan on behalf of the ISIS terrorist organization, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, was arrested on Tuesday, which authorities say was the scheduled day of the attack, after he visited an area near the military base and launched a drone in support of the attack plan, according to the Justice Department. Said allegedly planned to attack the Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, which is located in a Detroit suburb and manages the Army's supply chain for tanks. According to federal prosecutors, Said offered to help undercover law enforcement officers carry out the attack by training them to use firearms and make Molotov cocktails and by providing armor-piercing ammunitions and magazines for the attack. Said, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. Court documents did not list an attorney for Said. Said spent two years in the Michigan Army National Guard until he was discharged in December, according to court documents. Said 'was involuntarily discharged for failing to complete initial entry requirements,' a Michigan National Guard spokesperson told CNN in an email. 'The Michigan National Guard is an organization built on a foundation of trust, integrity and accountability,' the statement said. 'We hold all members to the highest professional standards, and when those standards are not met, we act in accordance with the law and our internal policies.' '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,' Brig. Gen. Rhett Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement. ISIS, or the Islamic State, once controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria. In the more than 10 years since it emerged, people claiming allegation to ISIS or its affiliates in Asia and Africa have conducted numerous terror attacks in cities across the world. Though military strikes from the US and its allies have weakened the terror group, it has proved resilient. An ISIS flag was found in the truck of an Army veteran who carried out a terror attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day that killed 14 people. And the arrest of eight people who crossed into the US from Mexico and — whom US officials believe have connections to ISIS — heightened concerns about a terror threat to the homeland.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Melvindale man's planned terrorist attack at Warren military base is thwarted, feds say
A Melvindale man, who is a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, is charged with planning a mass shooting at a military base in Warren on behalf of ISIS and launching a drone in support of the plan near the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM). Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device/explosive, according to a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He was arrested May 13. Said is to make an initial appearance in federal court May 14. Prosecutors are expected to ask the court to hold him in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and a risk that he will flee, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. If convicted, the office indicated, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. "ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans. 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," U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said in the release. During the course of an undercover FBI investigation, Said introduced and discussed a plan he devised to conduct a shooting at TACOM at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. In April, it states, undercover FBI personnel purporting to be ISIS supporters indicated to Said that they intended to carry out his planned attack at the direction of ISIS. According to the affidavit, Said "provided assistance to the attack plan he orginally devised − one that he believed would result in the death of many American citizens." More: Michigan State Police start investigation into two Hamtramck councilmen over residency In response, it indicated, Said provided armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, a drone intended to conduct operational reconnaissance and surveillance of TACOM. training regarding the use of a firearm and construction of Molotov cocktails. On May 13 − the day of the scheduled attack − after he went to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the plan, Said was arrested, according to the release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. More: Lawmaker describes Michigan State Police as 'sinking ship,' blames top leadership Said enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard around September 2022, attended initial basic training at Fort Moore, Georgia, and reported to the Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory after completing initial training, according to the affidavit. It indicated he was discharged from the Michigan Army National Guard around December. Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, indicated in the release that the attack was "foiled ... before lives were lost." Contact Christina Hall: chall@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press. Submit a letter to the editor at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan man's planned ISIS terrorist attack thwarted, feds say
