Two 20-year-old men in suburban Detroit are accused of planning a deadly terrorist attack, allegedly purchasing high-powered weapons, stockpiling ammunition and training at a local shooting range before targeting multiple LGBTQ bars.
Mohomed Ali and Majed Mahmood, both 20 years old, of Dearborn, allegedly conspired with at least five unnamed individuals and a minor, identified as “Person 1,” to carry out an ISIS-inspired shooting on Halloween night, according to an FBI affidavit. Prosecutors said Ali and Person 1 planned to carry out the assault, while others planned to travel to Syria to join Islamic State forces.
According to a criminal complaint filed Nov. 1, Ali and Mahmoud allegedly scouted at least three businesses along Woodward Avenue near 9 Mile Road in Ferndale, Michigan, on Sept. 19 and 20 as potential targets. The stores are located in areas known for nightclubs and bars and “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. The city previously elected a gay mayor, current Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, and hosts an annual Pride parade that draws tens of thousands of tourists to the Detroit suburbs.
Coulter called the conspiracy allegations “alarming” and said the pain of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, which claimed the lives of 49 people, most of whom were LGBTQ, including the gunman who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, is still “deeply felt” within Ferndale’s LGBTQ community.
“We found that a lot of damage could be done.” [Halloween]” Julia Musick, executive director of the LGBTQ organization Ferndale PRIDE, told the Detroit ABC affiliate. WXYZ“It’s very disturbing that they were looking at specific dates where we know a lot of people would be gathering in bars.”
Before arresting them, FBI agents reportedly surveilled the men for several weeks, using undercover agents to communicate with co-conspirators and setting up pole cameras outside the minor’s Dearborn home to monitor his movements. the hill. Investigators also tracked the men’s phones in Ferndale, where they allegedly spied on their targets, gained access to encrypted chats and reviewed social media posts related to the group.
The FBI said it first learned of Ali, Mahmoud and Person 1 while investigating an adult identified as “Conspirator 1” who was staying at Ali’s residence from June 30 to July 2.
Conspirator 1 and another person then appeared to mention Ali and “Person 1” in a July 27 group call recorded by a confidential source, in which the participants allegedly said the two were planning a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.
In the months that followed, the group allegedly used the slang term “pumpkin” to refer to planned Halloween attacks. Surveillance footage from September and October showed Ali, Mahmoud, “Person 1” and two other unnamed co-conspirators practicing with firearms at a shooting range in Belleville, Michigan.
The complaint further alleges that “Person 1” regularly sought guidance from the father of a “local radical Islamic ideologue” about when to perform “good deeds.” The man, whom “Person 1” worshiped, allegedly told him to proceed with the attack “now.”
The FBI obtained search warrants for the Dearborn man’s residence and a warehouse rented by Ali near Inkster, Michigan. From these locations, agents recovered three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four pistols, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, a tactical vest and backpack, and several GoPro cameras.
“The FBI stopped a massacre before it happened,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in an Oct. 31 X-Post. “Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terrorist attack near Detroit, stockpiled weapons, scouted targets, and trained at a shooting range. This FBI acted quickly, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”
Ali and Mahmoud were arrested and charged with one count each of transferring or attempting to transfer weapons and ammunition for use in a “federal crime of terrorism,” according to the complaint. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Both men appeared in federal court on Nov. 3 and were ordered held until at least Nov. 10, when they are scheduled to return for detention hearings.
Mr Ali’s lawyer, Amir Makred, disputed Mr Patel’s claims that a terrorist plot had been planned.
Mr. McCread said: detroit free press He said his client was one of five Americans, all men between the ages of 16 and 20, arrested in a separate FBI investigation on Halloween on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. He insisted he never planned to harm anyone and accused Patel and the FBI of “jumping.”[ing] He pointed a gun at him when announcing the arrest of a young man. ”
“These kids are gamers, and it’s weird the way gamers talk to each other,” McCread said after meeting with customers on Nov. 1.
MSNBC reporter Ken Dilanian said Senior FBI and Justice Department officials were “unhappy” with Patel’s posts about the Michigan terrorism investigation before any criminal charges were filed and details of the charges against Ali and Mahmoud were made public.
McCread said his client and a gamer friend’s recreational use of guns put them on the FBI’s radar and prompted law enforcement to investigate. He also defended young people’s online activities, saying they were “going down a rabbit hole of different types of websites”.
McCread argued that the case focused on protected free speech between friends who “spoke harshly on the internet” and that political pressure from the U.S. government led to the men’s charges.
“This is not a terrorist organization,” Makled said. detroit news. “As far as I know, no mass casualties or terrorist plots of any kind were planned. They may have been on websites and online chat groups they shouldn’t have been on, but there was nothing illegal.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
