Overview
- Federal prosecutors charged Mohmed Ali, 20, and Majed Mahmoud with receiving, transferring, and conspiring to transfer firearms and ammunition knowing they would be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism.
- Agents executing Oct. 31 search warrants recovered AR-15-style rifles, shotguns, handguns, tactical vests, GoPro cameras, and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition from homes and a storage unit.
- Court filings cite encrypted chats, gun-range training, and September trips to Ferndale to scout bars and clubs that attract LGBTQ+ patrons, with Halloween referenced as “pumpkin.”
- Five people were initially detained in Dearborn and Inkster, but only two were charged as the investigation continues and some court records remain under seal, including details involving a juvenile.
- Defense attorney Amir Makled disputes the government’s characterization as lacking evidence of a mass-casualty plot, while the defendants appeared in court Monday and remain jailed pending a Nov. 10 detention hearing.