HOUSTON – The government has painted Anas Said, 28, as a terrorist collaborator. He is charged with a serious federal offense, providing support to the terrorist organization, ISIS.
Federal prosecutors said the U.S. citizen created propaganda videos for ISIS recruiting purposes and had a strong distaste for U.S. military personnel who fought overseas against Muslims.
Said is depicted as strongly antisemitic in court documents.
But Said’s own lawyer said that the young man has no means or ability to do true harm to Houstonians, or Americans in general.
“I will tell you directly that if he is the biggest local threat to our national security, then I am sleeping pretty good at night, because I just don’t think my client has the capacity to carry out any type of terrorist activity plan anything,” Baldemar Zuniga, Said’s criminal defense attorney, told KPRC 2 Investigator Joel Eisenbaum.
Said’s former boss, at Pizza Patron on South Eldridge Parkway near Westheimer, was also surprised by his arrest.
“He just made the dough back there,” the location manager said during a brief interview Friday.
That manager could recall no trouble with Said or his brother, both of whom worked at the store.
Less than a mile from the pizza shop, is another place that piqued Said’s interest, according to court documents: a joint recruiting center on Westheimer for the U.S. Military.
Court documents related to the federal case against Said state:
“He also discussed his efforts to commit violence in the United States, including considering purchasing a gun, researching military recruitment facilities, and scouting one specific location on Westheimer Rd. Defendant also stated he considered asking military members that he would see near his work if they supported Israel or if they had been deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq and killed Muslims there, and if they said yes, those are the persons he would kill. The Defendant also acknowledged he has anger and control issues and desires to kill and fight for ISIS...”
Said’s lawyer said that he expects the case to go to trial in February 2025.
