Feds: Michigan Terror Plot Targeted LGBTQ+ Bars

Federal authorities say two men in Michigan were plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on LGBTQ+ bars over Halloween, but the FBI intervened before anything could happen. According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud are accused of conspiring to commit terrorism by transferring firearms and ammunition, per the Detroit Free Press. Investigators say the pair, along with three other co-conspirators, including a juvenile, shared ISIS-related materials, discussed possible attacks, and trained with firearms over several months.

The FBI says the men scouted locations in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb known for its LGBTQ+ nightlife, and specifically identified clubs along Woodward Avenue as potential targets. Agents say Ali and Mahmoud, who are both under 21, bought AR-15 rifles, stockpiled ammunition, and met repeatedly for gun range practice and planning sessions. The "information is consistent with (the juvenile), Ali and Mahmoud scouting possible LGBTQ+-friendly attack locations in Ferndale," FBI Special Agent Nicholas Czech wrote in the complaint, per the Detroit News.

The investigation reportedly involved recorded conversations, an undercover informant, and months of surveillance. According to the criminal complaint, the suspects used the code name "pumpkin" for the plot, "which they appeared to set for Halloween, and they sought guidance from the father of a local Islamic extremist ideologue on this question." The complaint states that the suspects spoke of copying the ISIS attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015, the New York Post reports. Law enforcement made arrests and executed search warrants on Halloween, seizing rifles, handguns, tactical gear, and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the suspects' homes and a storage unit.

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The FBI and Justice Department say the operation stopped a "massacre" before it could happen, with Attorney General Pam Bondi crediting coordinated law enforcement efforts for averting tragedy. Defense attorneys cast doubt on the government's case, describing their clients as gamers and gun enthusiasts whose online talk amounted to bravado, not a real plot, the Free Press reports. They claim there was no genuine threat and accuse the FBI of overreacting.