Two Dearborn Men Charged in โคAllegedโ Halloween Terror Plot Targeting Ferndale
FERNDALE, โMich. (November 3, 2023) – Two โmen from Dearborn, Michigan, have been chargedโฃ in connection with โคan alleged terror plot targeting Ferndale, authorities announcedโฃ Friday. The โขFBI says it thwarted a potential attack planned for halloween weekend.
Ali, and Mahmoud, areโ facing federal charges following searches conducted by FBI agents in Ferndale, Inkster, and Dearborn. Agents recovered threeโค AR-15 style rifles, twoโข shotguns, four handguns, and overโข 1,600 โrounds of ammunition โcompatibleโฃ with theโค rifles. Additional โitems seized included opticalโค sights, two GoPro cameras, a flash suppressor, tactical vests, โฃand relatedโ firearms parts and accessories. A search โคof a storage unit in Inkster yieldedโ twoโ chest rig vests, tactical backpacks,โค and 24 empty magazines compatible with the seized AR-15 style rifles.
FBI Director Kashโค Patel announced the disruption of the alleged plot on social media friday.
However,a Michigan โคdefense attorney representing oneโข of the suspects disputedโ Patel’s claim,suggesting the allegations may stemโ from conversations during โขonline video โขgaming.
Neighbors near the last known addresses of the suspects offered varied reactions. “It’s serious, I think. I think it’s worth looking into. If they’re innocent, our โฃsystem, โI think, will โprove them innocent,” said neighbor John Lodwig. “I โdon’t think our FBI spends their time โฃwatchingโฃ kids play games,do you? A defense attorney’s going to have to โคsay what a defense attorney โwould say,and I wouldโค be making up some kind of a story like that if I was a โdefense attorney. But I don’t believe that.”
Retired โคFBI Assistant Director Dan Roberts noted the length of the criminal complaint, stating itโ wasโ one of the most extensive he’d seen in over 30 years of law enforcement.”There’s a lot of interesting things in the โคcriminal complaint,but at the heart of it is โindeed a gun charge,which is used,as you know,greatly inโค federal indictments,” Roberts said. “It’s all very disturbing. There wasโฃ large quantities of ammunition… 15, 16 hundred โrounds โof โคammo.”
Roberts alsoโฃ highlighted the significance of the Ferndale locations, given ISIS’s history of targeting LGBTQ communities.