FBI counterterrorism agents arrested at least three people Friday ― including a juvenile ― according to two sources familiar with an investigation that Director Kash Patel says thwarted a violent plot tied to international terrorism over Halloween weekend.
The sources have been briefed on certain aspects of the investigation but were not authorized to speak publicly.
“This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend,” Patel said in his post. “Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7 and crushing our mission to defend the homeland.”
Patel added in a statement that the FBI’s response averted a potentially tragic situation.
“Through swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a potential act of terror was stopped before it could unfold,” Patel said. “The vigilance of this FBI prevented what could have been a tragic attack — and thanks to their dedication, Michigan will have a safe and happy Halloween.”
Patel announced the arrests on X, but few details, as mystery surrounded the unconventional case. There did not appear to be any criminal charges unsealed and no details were revealed by prosecutors by Friday afternoon. Nor were any defendants brought into federal court.
People arrested in federal investigations must be brought to court for an initial appearance within 72 hours, meaning it could be Sunday or Monday before additional details are released about the case.
“There is no current threat to public safety,” FBI spokesman Jordan Hall told The Detroit News.
The arrests coincided with FBI searches across suburban Detroit in Dearborn and Inkster. Investigators from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces were spotted outside two homes in Dearborn on Friday morning, including a brick home in the 5900 block of Horger Street across the road from Fordson High School. The other house is two miles northeast in the 7800 block of Middlepointe Street.
The neighborhoods around the raids were quiet, with just a few neighbors standing outside or poking their heads out their doors to check on the status of the investigation. FBI agents and evidence technicians walked in and out of both houses all morning.
At the Horger house, the FBI walked a woman in and out of the house multiple times.
Saltana Al-Masab, who lives next door to the Horger home the FBI is searching, said through her niece that she heard the raid at around 6 a.m. Friday. She did not know her neighbors and had only moved in a few months ago.
Agents also searched a storage facility on Michigan Avenue in Inkster, according to the city’s police department. The searches unfolded about 12 hours before trick-or-treaters were expected to descend on neighborhoods in celebration of Halloween.
Inkster Police announced Friday they would have additional personnel deployed throughout the city to ensure the safety and well-being of people during Halloween activities.
The office of Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said it had requested additional information from the FBI. The office has not yet received a briefing or new information on the incident.
Dearborn Police posted on Facebook that the FBI was “conducting operations” in the city Friday morning. Police also said there was no threat to the community.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tweeted that she had been “briefed by Director Patel on the thwarted potential terrorist attack in our state. As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Friday morning, at an unrelated press conference about her lawsuit against the Trump administration for the suspension of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, that she had been informed of developments in Michigan regarding the FBI’s activity.
“We’ve been in consultation with the FBI in regard to this matter,” she said. “While I can’t speak publicly to the details of it, I can just say that I’m very, very grateful for the FBI’s work in protecting the community and keeping people safe, and I’m sure we’ll learn more about the details publicly later. But I’m thankful for their good work.”
There have been several high-profile counterterrorism investigations in Metro Detroit in recent years. That includes the prosecution of Detroiter Jibreel Pratt, who pleaded guilty in July to two counts of concealing material support to a foreign terrorist organization 14 months after prosecutors accused him of unwittingly exchanging incriminating messages with an FBI informant.
In May, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was charged after prosecutors said the Melvindale man tried to attack a military base in Warren on behalf of the Islamic State.
And in 2023, Dearborn resident Ibraheem Musaibli was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of providing material support to the Islamic State. Prosecutors described him as an Islamic State soldier captured on a Syrian battlefield seven years ago.
Staff Writer Julia Cardi contributed.
