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By Erin Brady
AP Fellow
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The man who took a Texas synagogue hostage last month supposedly was looking for a machine gun and drugs beforehand, according to the FBI.
FBI agent Taylor Page revealed this information Wednesday during a detention hearing for Henry "Michael" Williams, who is accused of selling Malik Faisal Akram the gun he used during his attack. Williams was arrested less than two weeks after Akram took hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, resulting in him being shot and killed by FBI agents.
Page testified that Akram allegedly approached Williams to purchase meth, cocaine and "a machine gun or a weapon that contains a large number of bullets" on January 13.
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The agent also said that Williams, a convicted felon, was not legally allowed to possess or sell firearms.
Williams admitted to agents after his arrest that he offered "fence" services to people in the community, including Akram. In order to offer these services, he would allegedly acquire stolen goods from others and then resell them for profit. Page also testified thatWilliams allegedly sold illegal guns 10 to 15 times before the Congregation Beth Israel attack.
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Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford ruled that Williams continue to be held in police custody until his trial. His common-law wife, Keisha Jones, told reporters after the hearing that while what Williams did was wrong, she believed that the prosecution was "railroading" him because of Akram's death, Dallas–Fort Worth news station KTVT reported.
On January 15, Akram took the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue and the four people inside hostage. The hostages were held for 11 hours before eventually finding a way to escape. None of the hostages were injured in the situation, but Akram was killed by authorities.
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel and one of the hostages taken by Akram, expressed similar feelings in an interview with NPR's All Things Considered shortly after the situation.
"I would say to his family I am so sorry. I am so sorry that you had to endure this tragedy. It's horrible for all of us," Cytron-Walker said.
A trial has not been scheduled yet for Williams.
Update 02/16/2022 at 3:41 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with more information.
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