Two men accused of plotting terror attacks at LGBTQ+ bars in the Detroit area

DETROIT (AP) — Two 20-year-old men who had acquired high-powered weapons and practiced at gun ranges were scouting LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit in September for a possible Halloween attack, authorities said Monday in filing terrorism-related charges.

Mohmed Ali, Majed Mahmoud and co-conspirators were inspired by the Islamic State group’s extremism, according to a 72-page criminal complaint unsealed in federal court. Investigators say a minor, identified only as Person 1, was deeply involved in the discussions.

“Our American heroes prevented a terror attack,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X.

The men, described as too young to drink alcohol, had looked at LGBTQ+ bars in Ferndale for a possible attack, according to the complaint.

Before making arrests Friday, FBI agents had surveilled them for weeks, even using a camera on a pole outside a Dearborn house, according to the court filing. Investigators also got access to encrypted chats and other conversations and scoured social media posts.

The FBI said it became interested in Ali, Mahmoud and the third person while investigating another man and picking up information on a group call in July that was recorded by a confidential source.

Ali and Mahmoud were charged with receiving and transferring guns and ammunition for terrorism. They made brief appearances in federal court Monday and will remain in custody at least until a Nov. 10 detention hearing.

Defense attorneys William Swor and Amir Makled declined to comment. Makled over the weekend seemed to wave off the allegations, saying they were the result of “hysteria” and “fear-mongering.”

Mahmoud had recently bought more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition that could be used for AR-15-style rifles, and both practiced at gun ranges, the government alleged.

The FBI said the men repeatedly referred to “pumpkins” in their conversations, a reference to a Halloween attack. The court filing says Person 1, the minor, regularly consulted the father of a “local Islamic extremist ideologue” about when to commit a “good deed.”

FBI Director Kash Patel had announced arrests Friday, but no details were released at the time while agents searched homes in Dearborn and a storage unit rented by Ali in nearby Inkster.

The searches turned up tactical vests and backpacks, AR-15-style rifles, ammunition, loaded handguns and GoPro cameras, the FBI said.

The criminal complaint doesn’t specifically say why Ferndale was a target, though the man who attacked the LGBTQ+-friendly Pulse Nightclub, killing 49 people in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Ferndale, which is just north of Detroit, attracts tens of thousands of people to its annual Pride parade. Former Mayor Dave Coulter, who is gay, said it was “disturbing” to hear about the alleged plot.

Coulter, who’s now the elected Oakland County executive, said the pain of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy “is still deeply felt” in Ferndale.

It’s the second case since May involving alleged plots in the Detroit area on behalf of the Islamic State group. The FBI said it arrested a man who had spent months planning an attack against a U.S. Army site in Warren. Ammar Said has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

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Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.