An M1 Abrams tank is displayed outside the Tank-Army Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Mich., in May 2005. (Carlos Osorio/AP)
A 19-year-old former Michigan National Guard soldier was arrested Tuesday outside a Detroit-area military installation that he planned to attack in the name of the Islamic State, according to the Justice Department.
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device after his arrest near the Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command facility — known as TACOM — at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Mich., federal officials said Wednesday.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of those charges. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is continuing its investigation into Said’s actions, according to the DOJ.
“The defendant allegedly tried to carry out an attack on a military facility in support of ISIS, which was disrupted thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners,” said Donald Holstead, the assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to detect and stop terrorist plans aimed at the American homeland or at U.S. interests overseas.”
Said spent months planning a mass shooting on the installation, which is responsible for managing the Army’s ground equipment supply chain — roughly 60% of all the Army’s gear. The teenager unknowingly planned his attack with two undercover FBI agents, who he had directed to use Molotov cocktails and small arms to help him carry out the assault. The attack was planned for Tuesday, DOJ said.
Officials said Said provided all the materials — including armor-piercing ammunition and magazines — to the two FBI agents. Said also provided them training on constructing Molotov cocktails, using firearms and advised them of his plan of attack, including how to enter the installation and which building to target, according to DOJ.
He was captured Tuesday after launching a drone near TACOM, which he planned to use for reconnaissance before initiating the attack. Said in April told the undercover agents that he had been directed by ISIS to carry out the assault.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. of the Eastern District of Michigan. “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.”
DOJ did not detail when Said began communicating with ISIS.
Said was expected to face a judge on Wednesday for the first time in the case. DOJ officials said they would recommend he be held in jail until a trial “because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee.”
Said’s time in the National Guard was brief. He enlisted in September 2022 and attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Ga. He was discharged in December 2024, according to the DOJ.
Army Brig. Gen. Rhett Cox, who leads the service’s Counterintelligence Command, said Said’s arrest proved the importance of using counterintelligence practices to uncover potential plots, even from former service members.
“I commend the tireless work of our special agents and FBI partners who worked together to investigate and apprehend this individual,” Cox said in a statement. “We will continue to collaborate with our partners to prevent similar incidents in the future. 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.”
