Two men were arrested on Friday for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired Halloween attack in Michigan, according to court records unsealed on Monday.
The men allegedly used the term “pumpkin day” for their plans, according to the complaint.
Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked the FBI for stopping the plot “before innocent lives were lost.”
The next day, Ali allegedly said he would hold a meeting to discuss how to move ahead with the alleged plan.
Ali allegedly said, “Tell him [MAHMOUD] this, it’s on this, we are going back to this pumpkins,” according to documents.
Court documents released on Monday show that two men were arrested on Friday for allegedly planning a Halloween attack in Michigan that was inspired by ISIS.
The complaint claims that the men called their plans “pumpkin day” on purpose.
Thanking the FBI for thwarting the plot “before innocent lives were lost,” Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed gratitude. “.”.
Both Majed Mahmoud and Mohammed Ali, U. A. As per the complaint, citizens purchased a shotgun, a rifle similar to the AR-15, and a “forced reset trigger that allows a shooter to increase the rate of fire in a semiautomatic weapon.”.
According to the complaint, the men and three other co-conspirators drove to various outside locations to practice shooting and practiced shooting guns at firing ranges throughout Michigan. According to the Justice Department, the terrorists who have carried out other attacks have also reportedly practiced shooting with firearms in advance.
The complaint claimed that they “shared extremist and ISIS-related materials that encourage attacks similar to what they planned through online encrypted communications and social media applications.”.
According to the complaint, FBI agents searched homes on Friday and discovered more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition that were compatible with AR-15-style rifles, as well as numerous AR-15-style rifles, shotguns, handguns, and tactical firearms.
The men were first brought to the attention of the FBI following a 2024 examination of one of the unidentified co-conspirators’ phones. “Google searches related to ‘ISIS’ and the ‘Islamic State,’ and pictures of what appear to be Co-conspirator 1 in military-style clothing with weapons,” according to documents, were discovered on the phone when the individual returned to the United States, according to a Customs and Border Protection officer.
In a group call, Ali and Mahmoud “discussed traveling overseas to join Co-conspirator 1 and then later traveling together to Syria to join ISIS,” according to the documents, while the co-conspirator was abroad.
According to the Justice Department, the men then declared their intention to remain in the United States. S. . should take the “same action as France,” alluding to the Paris ISIS attack in 2015. The men allegedly brought up the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, which ISIS claimed responsibility for, in reference to a possible attack at a club or disco later in the conversation.
Oct. 17. The complaint alleges that Ali encouraged the unnamed person to “learn how to shoot” and said, “We’ve got some new plan for real — for real.”. Ali allegedly stated that he would meet the following day to talk about how to proceed with the purported plan.
“Tell him [MAHMOUD] this, it’s on this, we are going back to this pumpkins,” Ali allegedly said, according to files.
When ALI and Person 1 mentioned “pumpkins,” the documents stated, “I think that they were possibly referring to an attack that they would carry out on or around Halloween, based on the context of this conversation and additional information as described below.”.
Oct. 19, there seemed to be some hesitation to execute the attack, but the Justice Department claims that at the conclusion of the conversation, Ali was talking about a possible date.
ALI and Person 1 mentioned “pumpkin” once more in a conversation on October 19, 2025, and Person 1 instructed ALI to “change it back,” according to the documents. Person 1 was then informed by ALI that “that isn’t happening” and that “if it does, the problem is you won’t know once you see it on the news, the open news.”. “.”.
Oct. 24 The indictment’s anonymous source told Ali, “I spoke with my brothers. “We’re going to do pumpkin,” the documents stated.
