As the Biden administration continues to throw the door to the U.S. southern border wide open, intelligence officials have warned of the increasing threat that those who wish to do the nation harm are crossing the border illegally into the country. But what may get lost in the shuffle is that there are still those entering legally, who are also a threat to the nation. And while the Biden administration continues to insist that the greatest terroristic threat to the nation is MAGA Republicans and Trump supporters, what Republicans have been warning about is coming to fruition. Whether it is through the southern border illegally or legally through the visa system, actual terrorists are already here.
Last month, Sohaib Abuayyash, a Jordanian national living in Houston, was arrested and now is behind bars for unlawful possession of a firearm by someone with a non-immigrant visa, but was also allegedly plotting an attack on Houston’s Jewish community. Federal officials claim that Abuayyash was studying how to make bombs and had posted to social media about wanting to kill Jews. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan wrote in court documents that Abuayyash had talked about becoming a martyr in support of a religious cause and that he “has made statements that he wants to go to Gaza to fight.” Judge Bryan also stated, “He has viewed specific and detailed content posted by radical organizations on the Internet, including lessons on how to construct bombs or explosive devices. Defendant has made statements to others that support the killing of individuals of particular religious faiths.”
Sohaib Abuayyash has been in the country since 2019 when he entered on a non-immigrant visa — which also expired in 2019. He then applied for asylum and obtained a work authorization valid until 2025. He appeared on the FBI’s radar back in August after agents conducted what is called “open-source research” and saw videos of Abuayyash firing weapons, including an AR-15-style rifle. It is illegal for those in the country on non-immigrant visas to acquire firearms. It is either not known, or the FBI has not disclosed whether Abuayyash was acting alone or with others in planning an attack on Jews in Houston, but according to court documents, some video footage shows Abuayyash being congratulated by two individuals only identified as “MD” and “AJ” for accurately hitting targets that, “appears to be a human silhouette and multiple bullet holes can be observed in the target.”
Since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, antisemitism around the world, including in the United States, has seen a sharp rise. In the two weeks following the attack, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. spiked by an astounding 400 percent. On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in front of a Senate committee and stated that while Jews make up roughly only 2.5 percent of the U.S. population, they are the target of around 60 percent of all religious-based hate crimes. This might be a stat the Biden administration should take a look at as they begin a new initiative to counter…wait for it…Islamaphobia in the U.S.
Wray also warned that the Hamas attack on Israel would no doubt inspire copycat attacks. He said that the Israel-Hamas war “has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole other level. He added, referring to the Abuayyash case but not mentioning it by name:
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration, the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate years ago. 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. That includes not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities.”
Once Abuayyash’s possible attack plans were known, the FBI was able to arrest him on the unlawful possession of a firearm charge, which allowed prosecutors to ask a federal judge that he be held without bail while the investigation moves forward.
Sohaib Abuayyash is one guy. How many more like him are in the country? We may find out sooner rather than later.
