Surveillance video at a Michigan gun range shows Mohmed Ali, right, and Majed Mahmoud on the left.
Two 20-year-old men have been accused of plotting a deadly terrorist attack in suburban Detroit, allegedly targeting several LGBTQ bars after purchasing high-powered weapons, stockpiling ammunition, and practicing at local gun ranges.
According to an FBI affidavit, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both 20 and from Dearborn, allegedly conspired with at least five unnamed individuals and a minor — identified as “Person 1” — to carry out an ISIS-inspired shooting attack on Halloween night. Prosecutors say Ali and Person 1 were to execute the assault while the others planned to travel to Syria to join Islamic State forces.
A criminal complaint filed on November 1 alleges that Ali and Mahmoud scouted at least three businesses along Woodward Avenue near 9 Mile Road in Ferndale, Michigan, as possible targets on September 19 and 20. The establishments, located in an area known for its nightclubs and bars, “intentionally attract members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the affidavit states.
The complaint does not explain why Ferndale was chosen, but the city is well known for its LGBTQ-friendly reputation. It previously elected a gay mayor — Dave Coulter, now Oakland County Executive — and hosts an annual Pride parade that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the Detroit suburb.
Coulter called the alleged plot “disturbing” and said the pain of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando — which claimed 49 lives, most of them LGBTQ, and involved a gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS — is still “deeply felt” within Ferndale’s LGBTQ community.
“I could see that there was potential for lots of damage to be done on [Halloween],” said Julia Music, executive director of the LGBTQ organization Ferndale PRIDE. She told Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ, “Very disturbing that they were looking at a specific date where they know a lot of people would be gathering at a bar.”
Before making arrests, FBI agents surveilled the men for several weeks, using undercover operatives to communicate with co-conspirators and a pole camera outside the minor’s Dearborn home to monitor his movements, reports The Hill. Investigators also tracked the men’s phones to Ferndale, where they allegedly scouted targets, obtained access to encrypted chats, and reviewed social media posts connected to the group.
The FBI said it first became aware of Ali, Mahmoud, and “Person 1” while investigating an adult identified as “Co-Conspirator 1,” who stayed at Ali’s residence from June 30 to July 2.
Later, Co-Conspirator 1 and others appeared to reference Ali and “Person 1” during a July 27 group call recorded by a confidential source, in which participants allegedly said the pair were planning to carry out a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.
In the following months, the group allegedly used the code word “pumpkins” to refer to the planned Halloween attack. Surveillance footage from September and October showed Ali, Mahmoud, “Person 1,” and two other unnamed co-conspirators practicing with firearms at a gun range in Belleville, Michigan.
The complaint further alleges that “Person 1” regularly sought guidance from the father of a “local Islamic extremist ideologue” about when to commit a “good deed.” That man, whom “Person 1” idolized, allegedly told him to proceed with the attack “now.”
The FBI obtained search warrants for the men’s Dearborn residences and a storage unit rented by Ali in nearby Inkster, Michigan. From those locations, agents recovered three AR-15-style rifles, two shotguns, four pistols, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, tactical vests and backpacks, and several GoPro cameras.
“The FBI stopped a massacre before it could happen,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in an X post on October 31. “Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit — stockpiling weapons, scouting targets, and training at gun ranges. This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”
Ali and Mahmoud were arrested and each charged with one count of transferring, or attempting to transfer, weapons and ammunition intended for use in a “federal crime of terrorism,” according to the complaint. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.
Both men appeared in federal court on November 3 and were ordered held in custody until at least November 10, when they are scheduled to return for a detention hearing.
Ali’s attorney, Amir Makled, disputed Patel’s assertion that any terrorist plot had been planned.
Makled told the Detroit Free Press that his client is one of five U.S. citizens — all males ages 16 to 20 — arrested in separate FBI raids on Halloween for allegedly planning a terrorist attack. He insisted there was never a plot to harm anyone and accused Patel and the FBI of “jump[ing] the gun in announcing the young men’s arrests.”
“These kids are gamers, gamers are weird in the way they talk to each other,” Makled said after meeting with his client on November 1.
MSNBC reporter Ken Dilanian said senior FBI and Justice Department officials were “frustrated” that Patel posted about the Michigan terror investigation before a criminal complaint was filed and before details of the charges against Ali and Mahmoud were made public.
Makled said his client and his gamer friends drew the FBI’s radar because of their recreational gun use, prompting agents to investigate. He also defended the young men’s online activity, saying they were “going down the rabbit hole of different types of websites.”
Makled argued that the case centers on protected free speech among friends “talking tough on the Internet,” and claimed political pressure from Washington led to the charges against the men.
“This is not a terrorist cell,” Makled told The Detroit News. “There was never any planned mass-casualty event or terrorism plot of any kind that I’m aware of. They might have been on some websites or online chat groups that they shouldn’t have been, but nothing that is illegal.”
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