Attorney General Pam Bondi said “American heroes” in law enforcement thwarted the planned attack.
The Department of Justice has filed charges against two people from Michigan for an alleged ISIS-linked terrorist plot that investigators say a group of men planned to carry out over Halloween weekend.
Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud face charges of “receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the firearms and ammunition would be used to commit a Federal crime of terrorism,” according to the criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday said it was the work of “American heroes” within the law enforcement community that thwarted the plot “before innocent lives were lost.”
The complaint states that agents were monitoring at least one co-conspirator as of last summer. As the investigation into the individuals unfolded, law enforcement officials uncovered communications indicating an attack could take place on “pumpkin,” referring to Halloween, or other dates, the complaint alleges.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Friday announced the arrests of “multiple subjects” who were part of the plot. The all-male group, which consists of the two men facing charges and multiple unnamed co-conspirators, ranges in ages from 16 to 20 years old, according to The Associated Press.
Encrypted communications between Ali and an unnamed juvenile — both U.S. citizens — stated that the “brothers” were planning an attack on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, according to the complaint. On an initial call planning the attack, which neither Mahmoud nor Ali appeared to be on, according to the complaint, one co-conspirator said the attack was “probably going to be at like a club, a disco,” the charging document for Ali and Mahmoud states.
Ali bought a shotgun, an AR-15-style rifle and multiple firearm accessories while the attack was allegedly being planned, and Mahmoud bought an AR-15-style rifle in September, the complaint states. The next month, he bought more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, the complaint continues.
Two tactical backpacks, two chest-rig vests and 24 empty magazines were also seized by agents at a storage unit allegedly rented by Ali, who lives in Dearborn, the document adds.
Ali and Mahmoud, along with two of the unnamed co-conspirators, allegedly practiced shooting the firearms in September and October.
Federal reviews of their social media accounts revealed Ali, Mahmoud and an unnamed juvenile were sharing extremist content on their social media accounts, the complaint alleges.
Lawyer Amir Makled, who represents one of the men mentioned in the charging documents but has not clarified which one, said in a statement over the weekend that there was “no evidence” of a crime.
“If these young men were on forums that they should not have been on or things of that nature, then we’ll have to wait and see,” Makled told AP. “But I don’t believe that there’s anything illegal about any of the activity they were doing.”
The men do not appear to have entered pleas as of Monday.