A California man was arrested on Friday after authorities claimed he assisted Al Qaeda and was planning on becoming a soldier for the terror group, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen -- who changed his name to Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum after converting to Islam -- was pulled off of a Mexico-bound bus in Santa Ana and indicted on two counts of supporting Al Qaeda and making false statements on his passport.

He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to remain in custody until his next hearing, scheduled for Oct. 18. 

Hieu Nguyen, the terror suspect's mother, said the family was shocked by the accusations.

"It surprised me. I don't know what's going on," she said.

His brother, who did not give his name, said his brother's conversion to Islam was a positive transformation and "made him a better person." 

Nguyen, of Garden Grove, Calif., was working as a security guard and reportedly obtained a firearms license.

In court, federal prosecutors accused him of knowingly trying to offer material support, "namely himself," the indictment says, to Al Qaeda. They also allege he lied on a passport application after making false statements about his name, date of birth, place of birth, and other information.

The Los Angeles Times reported on a Facebook page for a man named Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum -- which was the name Nguyen's passport -- uploaded a post about a trip to into Syria and Lebanon.

"I'm doing well in Syria ... having a blast here, and I mean literally," Ghannoum wrote in January.

USA TODAY said that in December, Nguyen traveled to Syria in December following reports of the civil war.

"He said that he wanted to protect his brothers," Nguyen's sister, Minh Ngoc Nguyen, told the Orange County Register. "He would want to help other people. 

His family also claimed his trip to Lebanon was to explore his newfound religion.

"He wanted to view more of the religious things. First-hand experience," said Nguyen's younger brother, Dinh Nguyen.