FBI agents in Michigan have arrested multiple people accused of plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend, the bureau’s director, Kash Patel, announced Friday on social media.
The law enforcement operation unfolded across suburban Detroit, with investigators saying the suspects’ plan appeared to have been inspired by Islamic State extremism. Authorities are now examining whether those arrested had been radicalized online, according to two officials briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Patel said additional details will be released later but stressed that there is no ongoing threat to public safety.
FBI agents and Michigan State Police were seen near Fordson High School in Dearborn on Friday, where officers entered and exited a house as part of the investigation. Witnesses reported seeing agents carrying paper bags and other items from an evidence truck. In Inkster, another Detroit suburb, FBI personnel were also spotted at a local storage facility.
Jordan Hall, an FBI spokesperson in Detroit, confirmed that “there is no current threat to public safety,” but declined to comment further on the case.
Officials familiar with the investigation said the suspects had been discussing potential attacks in an online chatroom. Some members of the group referred to their plan as taking place on “pumpkin day,” a coded reference to Halloween, one official said. It remains unclear whether the group had acquired weapons or materials necessary to carry out an attack, but the nature of the discussions prompted authorities to move quickly with arrests late Friday.
A local attorney, Hussein Bazzi, who was present at the Dearborn home, said he was representing individuals connected to the case but declined further comment when contacted by phone.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer confirmed she had been briefed by Patel and thanked law enforcement for what she called their “swift action,” though she did not provide details.
Residents in the Dearborn neighborhood said the arrests came as a shock. “It’s really scary because we have a lot of relatives around this neighborhood,” said Fatima Saleh, who lives next door to one of the homes raided.
The arrests come months after a separate terrorism case in the Detroit area. In May, the FBI detained a man named Ammar Said, accused of plotting an attack against a U.S. Army facility on behalf of the Islamic State group. Said’s supposed co-conspirators turned out to be undercover FBI agents. He remains in custody on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, and prosecutors have since filed a criminal “information” document — a possible sign of forthcoming plea negotiations.
Authorities have not indicated whether the latest arrests are connected to that earlier case, but Patel said Friday’s operation underscores the FBI’s ongoing efforts to “detect, disrupt, and dismantle threats before they endanger American lives.”
Associated Press story
