DETROIT — A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was charged Wednesday after prosecutors say he tried to attack a military base in Warren on behalf of the Islamic State.

Federal prosecutors described how investigators thwarted an alleged attack by Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, of Melvindale in the latest terrorism case involving a Metro Detroit man and the Islamic State group.

Said was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device, felonies that carry maximum 20-year prison sentences. During a brief Wednesday appearance in federal court, Said consented to detention after prosecutors signaled they wanted him jailed while the case is pending, calling him a danger to the community and a flight risk.

His lawyer, William Swor, declined to comment.

Federal court records and prosecutors describe an undercover investigation that culminated Tuesday with Said's arrest after he launched a drone to carry out an attack at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command, or TACOM, facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren.

“ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans," interim U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. "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. 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."

TACOM manages the Army's ground equipment supply chain, which covers approximately 60% of the Army's equipment.

"If a Soldier drives it, shoots it, wears it or eats it, we sustain it," the TACOM website reads.

TACOM also serves as an economic catalyst in Michigan. In fiscal year 2022, Michigan received $6.3 billion in contract capture from the U.S. Defense Department, a $1.3 billion increase from 2019, according to the Michigan Defense Center.

Donna Edwards, a TACOM spokeswoman, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Politicians in neighboring communities expressed gratitude that investigators averted a terrorist attack.

“Their quick response protected not only military personnel but also members of our local community,” state Rep. Mike McFall, D-Hazel Park, said in a statement. “Warren and the surrounding cities deserve to feel safe and secure.”

Said is four years removed from Melvindale High School where he competed on coach Gary Nagy’s wrestling team in the 125-pound weight class.

“I have no comment,” Nagy told The Detroit News on Wednesday before abruptly hanging up the phone.

Said enlisted in the National Guard in September 2022 and attended initial basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia. He later reported to the National Guard Armory in Taylor and was discharged in December 2024.

A drone got launched, prosecutors say

Prosecutors allege Said hatched a plan to conduct an armed attack and mass shooting at TACOM. Last month, FBI undercover agents, posing as Islamic State supporters, told Said they intended to carry out his attack at the direction of the Islamic State. In response, Said provided assistance, including using a drone to provide operational reconnaissance and surveillance at TACOM, according to the criminal case.

Said also offered to provide armor-piercing ammunition, according to the government, and train the undercover FBI agents to use weapons and Molotov cocktails.

The attack was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, Said arrived at a park in Dearborn dressed in black and met with an FBI undercover agent, prosecutors allege.

Said and one of the undercover agents drove to an unspecified location near TACOM where Said launched the drone, according to the FBI. He was arrested minutes later.

The roots of the investigation date to June 2024 when Said started communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as an Islamic State supporter.

“…Said described his longstanding desire to engage in violent jihad, either by traveling to ISIS-held territory abroad or by carrying out an attack in the United States," an FBI special agent wrote in an affidavit filed in court Wednesday.

The next month, Said boarded a military aircraft as part of his duties with the National Guard. Before boarding, he had to relinquish his iPhone.

FBI agents obtained a search warrant for the phone and found a Facebook message in Arabic from October 2023 between Said and someone in the Palestinian territories, according to the court filing.

“I want to go for Jihad,” Said wrote, according to the FBI.

“Agents also determined during the search that Said was a member of multiple channels in the encrypted messaging application Telegram, one of which contained videos and images with ISIS flags,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.

Said 'fed up' with USA: feds

One month later, in August 2024, an undercover FBI agent introduced Said to an individual who could facilitate travel to Islamic State-held territory overseas, the government alleged.

The three later met as the FBI secretly recorded with audio and video equipment.

“During the meeting, Said indicated he was ‘fed up with this country’ … and ‘so, by God, I want to go for jihad,’” according to the affidavit. “’Go to fight among the Muslims and raise the word of God and that’s it. My last intention is martyrdom for the sake of God.'”

During the meeting, Said touted his National Guard training, which included using firearms, throwing grenades and assembling/disassembling an AR-15-style rifle with his eyes closed, the FBI alleged.

Said was charged seven months after FBI counterterrorism investigators arrested a northern Michigan man accused of threatening people at TACOM by mailing a former boss a decapitated doll head and vowing to kill at least four other coworkers.

Those allegations were contained in documents charging 54-year-old Tawas City resident Joseph Casimiro with mailing threatening communications, a felony that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Casimiro, a former contract specialist at the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), was charged amid an increase in threats against politicians, public officials and employees in local, state and federal government. At the time, he was the 98th person charged with threatening a public official in 2024, according to National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center researchers Pete Simi of Chapman University and Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska.

Shifting tactics

In the last 11 years, at least 257 people have been charged with Islamic State-related crimes in federal courts nationwide, according to the center. The number of cases involving Americans drawn to the militant group has held steady in the last year, Hughes said.

"...what has largely changed is the way they show their support for the violent terror group," Hughes wrote in an email to The News on Wednesday. "In the past, when ISIS controlled large swathes of territory, the so-called caliphate acted as a bug light that attracted hundreds of Americans to travel overseas and join.

"Now, as ISIS moves into more of an insurgent organization as opposed to a quasi-nation state, we're seeing a shift away from travel and more focused on committing attacks in the United States," Hughes wrote. "Military targets have always been one of the top focuses by ISIS adherents, as they see violence against servicemembers as a way to avenge the loss of ISIS' power and territory."

In late August, Said showed one of the undercover FBI agents a selfie-style video of him reciting a pledge of loyalty to Islamic State, according to the government.

Two months later, in October, Said proposed attacking TACOM, the complaint alleged. Said indicated he had visited the facility while serving in the National Guard.

As preparation for the attack, Said told undercover FBI agents he had flown a drone over TACOM to identify entry points and potential targets, according to the government.

Said also indicated he visited stores to inspect firearms and military uniforms as well as buy glass bottles and other ingredients for making Molotov cocktails, the FBI alleged.

Why TACOM was targeted

Said claimed TACOM offered a target-rich environment, according to recorded statements cited in the criminal case.

Fighting overseas for Islamic State could result in killing “two, three, four other soldiers,” Said is quoted as saying, “but over here, it’s like, it’s a dream.”

Said proposed entering TACOM through the main gate by using his military identification, the FBI alleged.

Or “we could just take them out from the door or the gate, and make our way in,” Said is quoted as saying.

Said also proposed cutting through a barbed wire fence on the perimeter of the base, according to the government.

“Let’s say we can knock out the first two (soldiers) when we get in, that’s two less we have to worry about that are armed,” Said is quoted as saying.

During a recorded meeting in November, Said explained why he joined the Michigan National Guard.

“I did it for the training. I know how they think, and how they act, you know,” Said is quoted as saying. “I wanted to get military training before I just go somewhere. I’m fully dedicated…”

Military drills allegedly held

Preparations for the attack continued May 8. That is when the FBI alleges Said gave the armor-piercing ammunition and other equipment to the undercover agents.

In a recorded conversation with the undercover agents, Said appeared to acknowledge the attack would end in their deaths or capture.

“It’s a military base, I just want you to know this, this is, there’s no coming out,” he said. “It’s a one-way entrance.”

On Nov. 15, Said and the undercover agents drove to TACOM to familiarize themselves with entrances to the base, according to the government.

Later, the trio went to a storage unit that was rented by one of the undercover agents.

“…Said began to fly his drone, operating it with a controller attached to his cellular phone, which also displayed live video from the drone’s camera,” the FBI agent wrote. “Said piloted the drone to the front gate of TACOM and stated: 'That’s where the guards are.'”

The group also practiced military drills at the storage unit and Said described assembling a Molotov cocktail, according to the complaint.

“Of course, anything you see, shoot it,” Said is quoted as saying.

In December, Said discussed traveling to Syria for jihad and told the undercover agents he would still support an attack at TACOM, the government alleged. Then, Said and the undercover agents drove to the storage unit where Said recorded a message in Arabic in front of an Islamic State flag.

Said is portrayed in the court filing as being suspicious of the FBI undercover agents. He hid a tracking device inside the agents’ vehicle, which was later discovered by the government.

Said admitted he installed the device to determine if they were “actually law enforcement,” according to the criminal filing.

One of the undercover agents asked Said if he wanted to back out of the planned attack.

“No, no,” Said is quoted as saying. “I want to go. No one’s forcing me to.”

Last Sunday, the group refocused the plan to attack TACOM, according to the FBI.

“I’m all for it,” Said told the undercover agents.

The group made one last dry run past TACOM on May 8. Said proposed staging the attack at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13 at the military base.

A hidden camera inside the vehicle the group was traveling in showed Said flying his drone over TACOM from the front seat of the vehicle, the FBI alleged. He was holding a cellular device that displayed video from the drone showing potential targets during the attack.

Said also drew a diagram identifying targets at TACOM, including a building and open-air maintenance bays where Abrams tanks were stored, according to the FBI.

Said proposed one of the undercover FBI agents should use Molotov cocktails to start a fire on the first floor of one building. “Then shoot people as they left…,” according to the court filing.

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