DETROIT (WXYZ) — The federal government has charged two Michigan men after they allegedly conspired to commit an act of terrorism over Halloween weekend, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.
Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both residents of Dearborn, have been charged with gun crimes. The criminal complaint also references two co-conspirators and a juvenile in the alleged plot that the feds say the individuals were planning to carry out on behalf of ISIS.
Sketches by Carole Kabrin
Sketches by Carole Kabrin
According to the criminal complaint that detailed an investigation spanning several months, the conspirators had purchased multiple AR-15-style weapons, tactical gear, and had been documented practicing at local gun ranges and looking for possible attack locations.
Read the full complaint below:
Conversations between the five individuals, who reportedly referred to themselves as “brothers,” happened on encrypted communication applications and referenced an attack on “pumpkin day,” which the feds believe was in reference to Halloween.
“I gotta do the pumpkin for real . . . if [UI] don’t do the pumpkin I’m gonna slit my wrists,” Ali said, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint says that Ali and Mahmoud traveled together and scouted possible attack locations in Ferndale on September 19 and 20, including three bars on Woodward Avenue. Investigators believe they were possibly targeting LGBTQ+-friendly locations.
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“Given that Person 1, Ali, and Mahmoud are all under twenty-one-years old and based on what I have learned during this investigation, I believe it is unlikely Person 1, Ali, and Mahmoud would have traveled to this area at this time to patronize these clubs or drink alcohol,” the criminal complaint reads.
During the raids conducted at homes in Dearborn on Friday, Oct. 31, agents recovered three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four handguns and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition compatible with the rifles.
They also found optical sights, two GoPro cameras, a flash suppressor, tactical vests and other related firearms parts and accessories.
Separately, in a storage unit in Inkster where agents also searched, they found two more chest rig vests, tactical backpacks and 24 empty magazines compatible with the three seized AR-15 style rifles.
The complaint comes after FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media on Friday that the agency had thwarted a potential terror attack planned for Halloween weekend in Michigan.
Over the weekend, a Michigan defense attorney representing one of the suspects disputed Patel’s claim, saying the allegations could stem from talks on an online video game.
At the last known address of Ali, 7 News Detroit met a woman who would not identify herself and declined to comment through a gap in the front door.
At another home where Mahmoud was last known to live, cars were parked outside, but there was no response at the door.
“It’s serious, I think. I think it’s worth looking into. If they’re innocent, our system, I think, will prove them innocent,” neighbor John Lodwig said. “I don’t think our FBI spends their time watching kids play games, do you? A defense attorney’s going to have to say what a defense attorney would say, and I would be making up some kind of a story like that if I was a defense attorney. But I don’t believe that.”
Retired FBI Assistant Director Dan Roberts said the criminal complaint is one of the lengthiest he’s seen in more than 30 years of law enforcement.
“There’s a lot of interesting things in the criminal complaint, but at the heart of it is a gun charge, which is used, as you know, greatly in federal indictments,” Roberts said. “It’s all very disturbing. There was large quantities of ammunition… 15, 16 hundred rounds of ammo.”
“The Ferndale locations, that’s also really interesting because of the fact that ISIS, we know, has targeted LGBTQ operations in the past.”
