2 Michigan men charged in alleged Halloween terror plot
Two suspects face federal charges Monday in connection with what authorities said was a suspected terrorist attack planned for Halloween weekend in Michigan.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced in an article on X last week that the FBI had arrested five people who were “planning a violent attack over Halloween weekend.” Only two of them were charged in a 73-page criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud are charged with receiving and transferring, as well as attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition, knowing and having reasonable grounds to believe that the firearms and ammunition would be used to commit a federal terrorism crime.
They are expected to appear in court Monday afternoon.
According to the complaint, Ali and an unnamed minor were mentioned in third-party communications between July and October of this year. The conversations indicated that the “brothers” were planning to carry out an attack on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Ali allegedly purchased a shotgun, an AR-15-style rifle and other firearm accessories in August and September, the same time third-party conversations referenced an attack, according to the complaint.
One of the accessories he purchased was a “force-reset trigger that allows a shooter to increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic weapon,” the complaint alleges.
Mahmoud also allegedly purchased an AR-15-style rifle in September, then more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition a month later, according to the complaint.
The two men and the juvenile practiced shooting at several shooting ranges in September and October, the complaint states.
They and two other alleged conspirators allegedly used encrypted communications and social media applications “to share extremist and ISIS-related materials that encourage attacks similar to those they planned,” the complaint states.
This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.
