Halloween terror suspects from Dearborn consent to be jailed in federal court hearings

Kara Berg and Robert Snell, The Detroit News on Nov 10, 2025

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DETROIT — Three Dearborn men accused of plotting a domestic terror attack on behalf of the Islamic State consented Monday to being detained in county jails while their federal criminal cases are pending.

Ayob Nasser, 19, his 20-year-old brother Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, 20, appeared Monday morning in federal court in Detroit for a detention hearing. All three waived the hearing and consented to being detained.

The hearing followed a week of law enforcement activity related to the the largest federal terrorism prosecution in Michigan in more than 20 years and arrests spanning the Continental U.S. ― from the Seattle area to Metro Detroit and New Jersey ― as federal prosecutors have charged eight people in relation to the alleged terror plot. That includes a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male, both from Dearborn, who have been charged as juveniles in rare, sealed federal court filings.

The alleged plot surfaced during a series of Halloween raids at two homes in Dearborn and an Inkster storage facility during which investigators recovered firearms.

Attorneys for Nasser, Ali and Mahmoud said little in court and declined to comment after. All three men had family or friends in the courtroom for the hearing, but none spoke to media after the hearing.

The three men are charged in connection with an alleged terrorist plot targeting LGBTQ+ friendly clubs in Ferndale and Cedar Point amusement park. They are charged with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State and having firearms that could be used to commit terrorism.

Defense lawyers for some of the men charged in the case have criticized the government's handling of the FBI investigation, saying there was no terror cell, no planned attack or imminent threat.

Ali's lawyer, Amir Makled, previously told The Detroit News that the men charged were not involved in terrorism.

"One thing is for sure, they didn't have a plan to attack and are not part of a terror cell," Makled said. "There was never any planned mass-casualty event or terrorism plot of any kind that I'm aware of. ... They might have been on some websites or online chat groups that they shouldn’t have been, but nothing that is illegal."

The criminal complaint describes a group of five co-conspirators, including a juvenile, training with and stockpiling weapons and scouting potential attack locations in downtown Ferndale.

The investigation dates to 2024 when the FBI opened a probe into an unidentified co-conspirator who was living with Ali in Dearborn, according to the court filing.

"Our newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple subjects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi tweeted last week. "According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear, and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil."

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