Unsealed criminal complaint details Halloween terror plot foiled by the FBI
November 3, 2025|4 min read
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Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the unsealing of a criminal complaint detailing the alleged Halloween terrorist attack that was thwarted by law enforcement.
A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan charges Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud with offenses related to firearms and terrorism.
Our newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple subjects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States. According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear, and a detailed plan to carry out… — Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) November 3, 2025
View post on X ↗The complaint, filed by FBI Special Agent Nicholas Czech , alleges that from September 1 to October 31, 2025, Ali and Mahmoud received, transferred, and conspired to transfer firearms and ammunition. It further alleges they knew or had reasonable cause to believe the weapons and ammunition would be used to commit a Federal crime of terrorism , specifically attempting to provide material support to the designated foreign terrorist organization ISIS.
The investigation, assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force , focused on Ali and a juvenile, “Person 1,” who are U.S. citizens residing in Dearborn, Michigan.
According to the affidavit, the FBI became aware of encrypted third-party conversations in July 2025, recorded by a Confidential Human Source, in which individuals stated that “brothers,” specifically Ali (using the alias “Bukhari”) and Person 1 (using the alias “Athari”), were planning a US-based terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.
In one call, a co-conspirator stated they planned to do the “same thing as France,” which the affiant assesses is a reference to the November 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris. Another co-conspirator speculated the attack would likely be at a “club, a disco.”
Following these discussions, the defendants allegedly began acquiring a cache of weapons.
In August and September 2025, Ali purchased a Beretta shotgun, a PSA “Sabre” AR-15 style rifle, an EOTech holographic sight, and a “Forced Reset Trigger” (FRT) designed to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic weapon.
In September, Mahmoud purchased his own AR-15 style rifle and in October, he purchased 1,680 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.
The group, including Ali, Mahmoud, Person 1, and two other co-conspirators (Co-conspirator 4 and Co-conspirator 5), were observed practicing with AR-15 style rifles at the Downriver Guns range on multiple occasions.
The affidavit details alleged planning and reconnaissance activities.
Analysis of phone location data showed Person 1, Ali, and Mahmoud traveling together on the evenings of September 19 and 20, 2025, to downtown Ferndale, Michigan, an area that includes bars and clubs.
The affiant believes these trips constituted “scouting” potential attack locations. Furthermore, court-authorized surveillance captured Ali and Person 1 discussing their “plan” and using the word “pumpkin,” which the affiant assesses was a reference to conducting the attack on Halloween.
Person 1 also sought guidance from the father of a local Islamic extremist ideologue about the timing of the “good deed,” and was advised to “do it right away.”
Person 1 was a member of pro-ISIS Discord chat groups and posted a “goodbye message” from an al-Qaeda suicide bomber on Instagram.
In an Instagram group chat with Person 1 and Ali , Mahmoud shared pro-ISIS materials, including a book titled “The Islamic State (2015),” a map of “emigrants to the Islamic State,” and a “Timetable of a member of the Islamic State” that included “Weapons Exercises (shooting, target practice etc).”
Ali’s Instagram account had saved lectures from Anwar Al Awlaki and videos of the 9/11 attacks.
On October 31, 2025, federal search warrants were executed at Ali’s and Mahmoud’s residences and at a U-Haul storage unit rented by Ali.
At Ali’s residence, agents seized two AR-15 style rifles, a shotgun, three handguns, GoPro cameras, and tactical vests. At Mahmoud’s residence, agents found an AR-15 style rifle, the 1,680 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, a shotgun, and a tactical chest rig.
The storage unit, which access logs show Mahmoud visited with Ali , contained two more chest rig vests, tactical backpacks, and 24 empty AR-15 style magazines.
