Federal agents in Michigan arrested multiple people accused of plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend, FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday in a social media post.
According to The Associated Press, the coordinated law enforcement effort centered around suburban Detroit, with Patel saying more details would be released later.
According to two people briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, authorities believe the alleged plot was inspired by Islamic State extremism and are investigating whether the suspects were radicalized online.
FBI and state police vehicles were seen in a neighborhood near Fordson High School in Dearborn, where agents wearing FBI jackets entered and exited a home — collecting evidence bags from a nearby truck. Authorities were also spotted at a storage facility in Inkster, another Detroit suburb.
“There is no current threat to public safety,” said Jordan Hall, an FBI spokesperson in Detroit, who declined to comment further.
Investigators say the suspects had been discussing the potential attack in an online chatroom, referring to Halloween as “pumpkin day.” While it’s unclear whether the group had the means to carry out an attack, one official said the FBI decided to act quickly after seeing the Halloween reference and made the arrests on Friday.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that she had been briefed by Patel.
“I am grateful for swift action,” Whitmer wrote, without offering additional details.
Neighbors in Dearborn described the scene as alarming.
“It’s really scary because we have a lot of relatives around this neighborhood,” said Fatima Saleh, who lives next door to where agents were seen working.
The arrests come months after the FBI apprehended Ammar Said, a Michigan man accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. Army site in suburban Detroit. That suspect remains in custody, charged with attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization. Prosecutors recently replaced his criminal complaint with an “information” filing — a sign that a plea deal may be forthcoming.
The FBI has not yet said whether the two cases are connected.
