Syrian-American charged as spy

A Syrian-American was arrested and charged Tuesday for allegedly spying on anti-Syrian government protesters in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The alleged spy, Mohamad Anas Soueid, was accused of working on behalf of Syrian intelligence, traveling to Syria in June to meet with President Bashar al-Assad and other government officials in hopes of curbing protesters in the U.S., WSJ reports.

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Soueid, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Leesburg, Virginia, was arrested on six charges alleging he conspired to collect video and audio recordings of protesters in the U.S. and Syria against Assad, Bloomberg reports. According to his indictment he gave all materials to Syrian intelligence.

“Spying for another country is a serious threat to our national security, especially when it threatens the ability of U.S. citizens to engage in political speech within our own borders,” U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride of Alexandria, Virginia, said in a statement, Bloomberg reports.

Allegedly he recruited others in the U.S. to help collect materials, the Guardian reports. Soueid also allegedly sent a coded message in April to Syrian intelligence via email with information of a protesters’ meeting, including phone numbers and email addresses of protesters, the Guardian reports.

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The indictment also states Soueid denied collecting information for Syrian intelligence when questioned by the FBI in August, WSJ reports. He then alerted an alleged co-conspirator, asking them to wan others about the FBI interview.

Soueid is set to appear in front of a federal magistrate on Wednesday, WSJ reports.