| Follow-up to yesterday’s story. Photo of the miscreant at the link. |
[Gateway] A Palestinian man in the US illegally was arrested in Houston for a firearms violation. Sohaib Abuayyash, 20, was in the United States on a non-immigrant visa that expired in 2019, which prohibited him from owning a firearm, Click 2 Houston reported.| He’s a Jordanian Palestinian, actually, not from the Palestinian Territories. We learnt yesterday that he first came to America on a B-2 visa (tourist, unlimited entry) in 2016 for two months — when he would have been 13 — then returned in 2019, in his 16th year. I still wonder into whose care his parents gave the lad... |
| To be fair, it was reported that the second time he came, he arrived on a Palestinian passport, not Jordanian. Someone missed a step when checking his visa. |
Abuayyash had also been taking a detailed look online at radical groups that condone violence which included bomb-making.
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against a 20-year-old Palestinian citizen for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The charges allege Sohaib Abuayyash was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States. He knowingly possessed a firearm, namely a Canik, model TP9 Elite SC, 9 mm pistol, according to the indictment.
The FBI arrested Abuayyash Oct. 19 who remains detained pending further criminal proceedings. He is set to appear for his arraignment Nov. 13 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho in Houston at 2 p.m.
According to the criminal complaint filed upon his arrest, Abuayyash entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa, which expired in 2019, and has allegedly been in direct contact with others who share a radical mindset. The charges further allege he has been conducting physical training and has trained with weapons to possibly commit an attack.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The FBI is conducting the investigation.
Christina Bryan, who is a U.S. Magistrate looking at this case, ruled that he must be behind bars pending trial. Abuayyash has also talked about martyrdom and he expressed interest in going to Gaza.
Federal investigators found video of him firing weapons at a shooting range. The firearms violation gave the FBI a good reason to arrest him while they investigated the online activity he was involved with.