Feds bring criminal charges against 2 metro Detroit men for alleged terror attack plot

Three days after announcing their arrests on social media, the federal government brought criminal charges against two metro Detroit men, alleging they plotted to carry out a terror attack over Halloween weekend, only the FBI got to them first.

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, Nov. 3, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud both are charged with receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition to commit terrorism. They both are due to appear in federal court for initial appearances at 1 p.m. Nov. 3.

The defendants have been described by one defense lawyer as being video gamers and recreational gun enthusiasts who were engaged in puffery, nothing else.

Mahmoud and Ali are among five men initially encountered by law enforcement on Oct. 31. Three of the men were arrest and two were questioned and released. The men — ages 16-20 — were arrested in predawn raids in Dearborn and Inkster that drew praise from Michigan’s governor, the state attorney general and the president of the United States.

Read more: Detroit Free Press