Syrian-born American Held for Spying

Via CNN -

A 47-year-old Syrian-born naturalized American has been charged for his alleged role in spying on Syrian protesters in the United States, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid of Leesburg, Virginia has been charged in a conspiracy to collect video and audio recordings and other information about people "in the United States and Syria who were protesting the government of Syria and to provide these materials to Syrian intelligence agencies in order to silence, intimidate and potentially harm the protestors."

A federal grand jury charged Soueid October 5 in a six-count indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia and he was arrested on Tuesday. He will make an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate Wednesday afternoon.

He is charged with conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Syrian government in the United States without notifying the attorney general as required by law; two counts of providing false statements on a firearms purchase form; and two counts of providing false statements to federal law enforcement, the Justice Department said.

This comes amid Syria's seven-month-long crackdown against protesters.

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US DoJ: Virginia Man Accused of Acting as Unregistered Agent of Syrian Government and Spying on Syrian Protestors in America

Soueid, aka “Alex Soueid” or “Anas Alswaid,” a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged by a federal grand jury on Oct. 5, 2011, in a six-count indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia. Soueid is charged with conspiring to act and acting as an agent of the Syrian government in the United States without notifying the Attorney General as required by law; two counts of providing false statements on a firearms purchase form; and two counts of providing false statements to federal law enforcement.

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The indictment states that in late June 2011, the Syrian government paid for Soueid to travel to Syria, where he met with intelligence officials and spoke with President Bashar al-Assad in private.

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"In addition to the recordings, Soueid is accused of providing the Mukhabarat contact information, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses, for protesters in the United States. In a handwritten letter sent to UCC-1, Soueid allegedly expressed his belief that violence against protesters -- including raiding their homes -- was justified and that any method should be used to deal with the protesters. The indictment also alleges that Soueid provided information regarding U.S. protesters against the Syrian regime to an individual who worked at the Syrian Embassy in Washington, D.C."