HOUSTON — UPDATE: 2/28/24: Sohaib Abuayyash was acquitted in a federal courtroom.
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FBI Director Chris Wray told Congress on Tuesday about a man arrested in Houston after he allegedly studied "how to build bombs and posted online about his support for killing Jews.”
We first told you about Sohaib Abuayyash, a 20-year-old Jordanian, on Oct. 20. FBI agents arrested him and charged him with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. But Wray said it went far beyond possessing a weapon.
“He has viewed specific and detailed content posted by radical organizations on the internet including lessons on how to construct bombs or explosive devices," Wray told Congress. "And that defendant has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths.”
Abuayyash has not been charged with building explosives.
A federal judge in Houston has ordered Abuayyash to remain in custody, saying “he has viewed specific and detailed content posted by radical organizations on the internet including lessons on how to construct bombs or explosive devices; and that Defendant has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths.”
Abuayyash claimed to be a citizen of Jordan when he entered the U.S. in 2016. In 2019, he applied for asylum status as a Palestinian.
Here's what charging documents say about the defendant.
- In August, FBI agents saw social media videos of him at a firing range shooting an AR-style rifle and later a handgun. The videos, posted on TikTok and Instagram, prompted a wider investigation and led agents to a pair of Houston-area gun ranges.
- Further investigation linked Abuayyash to "others who share a radical mindset" and determined he had been "conducting physical training, and has trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack," the charging documents allege.
- Investigators said he has "viewed specific and detailed content posted by radical organizations on the internet including lessons on how to construct bombs or explosive devices; and that Defendant has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths.”
- The complaint called the federal probe a "national security investigation."
When agents interviewed Abuayyash, they said he initially lied and said the firearms were AirSoft weapons.
The feds said he broke federal law, which prohibits most people visiting the U.S. from possessing or using firearms.
His attorney has not yet responded to a request for comment from KHOU11 News.