Michigan man charged with attempting to attack US military base on behalf of ISIS

WASHINGTON

A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was arrested for allegedly attempting to attack a US military base in Warren, Michigan, on behalf of ISIS (Daesh), the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, is charged in a criminal complaint with “attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device,” the department said.

Based on the charges in the complaint, Said faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

According to the complaint, Said is accused of giving two undercover officers armor-piercing ammunition and instructing the covert officers how to make Molotov cocktails for the attack.

"This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS," Sue J. Bai, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said in a statement.

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost," Bai added.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case, according to the Justice Department.