FBI Director Christopher Wray told Senators today that an illegal alien arrested last week in Houston threatened Jews and wanted to learn how to build bombs.
Sohaib Abuayyash was arrested last week. At the time it was on a gun charge, and the FBI said he was in contact with others who had a "radical mindset. It was much worse than that.
Wray told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that Abuayyash was "studying how to build bombs," and "posted online about his support for killing Jews."
We're learning even more about Abuayyash.
He was arrested Thursday after the FBI reviewed videos on his social media, including an Aug. 11, 2023 recording that apparently showed him firing a rifle and semi-automatic pistols at a range in Houston.
According to legal documents, Abuayyash, a Jordanian citizen, came to the US in 2019 after applying for a tourist visa in Jerusalem and indicating he was a Palestinian citizen.
Abuayyash overstayed the visa and applied for asylum in 2020, which is still pending, the court records state. He was granted employment authorization in August 2023, which is due to expire in two years.
Wray is concerned there are others like Abuayyash out there.
"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," he told senators. "That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities."