Yeah, you read that right. Over Halloween weekend, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack in Dearborn, Michigan, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Multiple suspects have been arrested for “allegedly plotting a violent attack over the weekend,” Patel said Friday, Oct. 31, on social media. He said the plot was connected to international terrorism.
The FBI took action after undercover operatives monitored online group chats, according to ABC News. Law enforcement sources said the alleged plot involved firearms.
Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud allegedly bought an AR-15 style rifle, according to a complaint filed against them. The two men, both U.S. citizens, used the term “pumpkin day” for their plans.
Ali, Mahmoud and three other co-conspirators allegedly practiced shooting guns at firing ranges around Michigan and allegedly drove around outside locations to practice drive-by shooting.
By searching through homes in Dearborn on Friday, FBI agents found multiple AR-15-style rifles, shotguns, handguns and tactical vets, as well as more that 1,600 rounds of ammunition, as stated by ABC News.
Google searches related to ISIS and the Islamic State were found on the phone owned by one of the unnamed co-conspirators.
While the co-conspirator was traveling abroad, Ali and Mahmoud allegedly participated in a group call to discuss traveling overseas to Syria to join ISIS, according to the group chat complaint the FBI released.
The complaint read that on Oct. 17, Ali told an unnamed individual, “We’ve got some new plan for real,” and urged the person to learn how to shoot. Ali allegedly said to tell Mahmoud about the new plan and that they “are going back to this pumpkins.”
The FBI issued document believed that Ali and “Person 1” were potentially referring to an attack carried out on Halloween, as they referenced pumpkins.
On Oct. 19, there seemed to be some reluctance to carry out the attack, but by the end of the conversation Ali discussed a potential date. In another conversation on the same day, “Person 1” told Ali to change the date back and referenced pumpkins once more.
The FBI document said that on Oct. 24, the unnamed person said to Ali, “I talked to my brothers. We are going to do pumpkin.”
