Two Michigan men charged for allegedly planning Halloween terrorist attack

Two suspects in Michigan facing criminal charges for planning an alleged Islamic State-related terror attack over Halloween weekend have been identified as Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud.

They were charged in a 73-page criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Both have been charged with receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition to commit terrorism, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

Mr. Ali and Mr. Mahmoud are believed to have “traveled together to scout potential target locations in Ferndale, Michigan,” alongside an unnamed co-conspirator, according to the complaint.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the potential terrorist attack in Michigan was prevented early Friday, and that five men between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested.

The alleged attack was believed to be planned either for Halloween or near that date, but federal search warrants were served at their homes in Dearborn, Michigan and a U-Haul storage unit in Inkster, Michigan.

With the unsealed criminal complaint, Mr. Patel said in a statement, “the American people can see the results of months of tireless investigative work where the FBI acted quickly and likely saved many lives. We’ll continue to follow the facts, uphold the law, and deliver justice for the American people.”

Mr. Ali and the unnamed person discussed plans to conduct an attack on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group in encrypted communications from July to October.

Mr. Ali and Mr. Mahmoud purchased high-powered firearms and accessories, and Mr. Mahmoud later purchased 1,600 rounds of ammunition. The three practiced shooting at multiple gun ranges in September and October, according to the complaint.

They both made an initial appearance in federal court on Monday.

Attorney Amir Makled, who represents one of the men taken into custody, said in a Sunday interview with CBS News Detroit that his client “knows he did nothing wrong.”

“He knows he’s not part of a terrorist plot or a cell, and there’s nothing that he ever planned or wanted to do, or impose any harm on any member of the community at any point,” he said.

Mr. Makled said two of the five arrested on Halloween have been released from custody. 

In May, the FBI said it arrested a man who was plotting an Islamic State-affiliated attack on a U.S. Army site in suburban Detroit. Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, has pleaded not guilty to attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization and remains in custody pending the outcome of his case.

One or more of the five arrested may have known Mr. Said, according to reports.

“Thanks to the extraordinary diligence of our U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr., the FBI and state and local law enforcement officers, this plot was stopped before innocent lives were lost,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release.