A Michigan defense lawyer has claimed that FBI director Kash Patel’s statement that the FBI foiled an ISIS-style attack planned on Halloween weekend was inflated and that there was no such plan. Dearborn’s Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud have been charged with 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.Ali’s lawyer Amir Makled said his client in a 20-year-old US citizen with a lawful interest in recreational firearms. “There is no evidence whatsoever of a planned terror or ‘mass casualty’ plot,” Makled said, adding that the federal authorities have not given him many details about the investigation and he concluded that there was no terror event planned. “I don’t know where this hysteria and this fearmongering came from,” Makled said.
73-page criminal complaint filed against two
Five people were arrested in connection with the foiled terror plan bit only two have been charged in the 73-page criminal complaint. Ali and an unnamed juvenile were referenced in third-party communications from July to October of this year. The conversations stated that the “brothers” were planning to conduct an attack on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group. Ali allegedly purchased a shotgun, AR-15-style rifle and other firearm accessories in August and September, the same time the third-party conversations referred to an attack, according to the complaint.Mahmoud allegedly also purchased an AR-15-style rifle in September and then bought more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition a month later, according to the complaint.One of the alleged co-conspirators had his phone reviewed by a Customs and Border Patrol agent upon his return to the U.S. in August, the complaint said. The man had Google searches for “ISIS,” the “Islamic State,” and pictures of “military-style clothing with weapons,” the complaint said.According to the complaint, a different co-conspirator discussed traveling to Syria to join ISIS and had tried to convince “Athari” and “Bukhari” to join them. Investigators believe those names were used to reference Ali and the unidentified juvenile.Federal agents recovered AR-15-style rifles, two shotguns, four handguns and ammunition in addition to tactical vests and GoPro cameras at Ali and Mahmoud’s residence, according to the complaint. Agents also seized two tactical backpacks, chest-rig vests and 24 empty magazines at a storage unit allegedly rented by Ali.
