OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:35 PM – Monday, November 3, 2025
Federal authorities have charged two suspects in Michigan in connection with an alleged “ISIS-linked” terror plot on Halloween.
On Friday, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel announced that the agency had “thwarted a potential terrorist attack.”
Two men, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, are among those charged in a federal complaint unsealed on Saturday. They stand accused of “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,” according to an unsealed complaint dated Saturday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi released the complaint on Monday, calling the incident a “major ISIS-linked terror plot.”
Two anonymous law enforcement officials told CNN on Friday that the two men were taken into custody while three other possible accomplices were being questioned — with their ages ranging from 16 to over 29 years old.
In their online chats, the two suspects, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, referred to the planned Halloween massacre as “pumpkin day.” Just days ago, the group also drove to a Michigan gun range, unloaded hundreds of rounds from AK-47s, and filmed themselves practicing lightning-fast reloads — the exact move you need to keep shooting in a crowded bar or club without pausing, according to CNN.
Ali bought multiple rifles, a shotgun and a forced-reset trigger to increase firing speed. Mahmoud, meanwhile, purchased his own rifle, optical sights and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition for AR-15 weapons.
“According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear, and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil,” Bondi said on X, crediting U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr., the FBI and state and local law enforcement officers for preventing an attack.
Investigators also say that encrypted chats linked the group of co-conspirators to ISIS supporters overseas. They purportedly discussed traveling to Syria and Turkey to join ISIS, while Ali and a suspect, referred to as “Person 1,” wanted to attack inside the U.S. instead, according to the complaint.
“Person 1 and ALI have discussed an “attack” that may take place on “pumpkin” (“Halloween”) or other dates, based on court-authorized surveillance,” the document read.
“During an exchange with Person 1 on October 22, 2025, ALI 50 sang in a mocking tone, ‘I gotta do the pumpkin for real . . .’” it said.
Amir Makled, a lawyer who specializes in civil rights, personal injury, and criminal defense work, who is representing one of the individuals arrested in the alleged plot, spoke to CNN about the matter.
“We are confident that, once the facts are reviewed objectively, it will be clear there was never any planned ‘mass-casualty’ event or coordinated terror plot of any kind,” he said. “The reality here involves a small group … with a lawful interest in recreational firearms, not a terrorist cell or organized attack. All firearms were legally obtained and registered.”
Hussein Bazzi, a lawyer representing another one of the suspects, argued that the “pumpkin day” reference may have been an “online gamer chat that was misinterpreted.”
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