Michigan lawyer says a Halloween terror plot that FBI Director Kash Patel announced never existed
A Michigan defense lawyer is disputing FBI Director Kash Patel’s allegations that his 20-year-old client and four other young suspects were planning to carry out a terror attack on Halloween weekend.
Announcing their arrests on Friday, Patel said more information would be coming soon, however the FBI and Michigan authorities have offered few details about the case. Spokespersons for the state and national FBI and the U.S. Attorney in Detroit did not immediately respond to messages Saturday.
The investigation involved discussion in an online chat room involving at least some of the suspects who were taken into custody, according to two people briefed on the investigation who could not publicly discuss details. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The group allegedly discussed carrying out an attack around Halloween, referring to “pumpkin day,” according to one of the people. The other person briefed on the investigation confirmed that there had been a “pumpkin” reference.
However, lawyer Amir Makled, who represents a man from the suburb of Dearborn who was still detained on Saturday, said federal authorities haven’t given him many details about the investigation but after reviewing the matter, he concluded that no terror event was planned. He said he doesn’t expect any charges will be filed.
“I don’t know where this hysteria and this fearmongering came from,” Makled said.
He described the all-male group of U.S. citizens as gamers, and said they range in age from 16 to 20.
“If these young men were on forums that they should not have been on or things of that nature, then we’ll have to wait and see,” Makled said. “But I don’t believe that there’s anything illegal about any of the activity they were doing.” [Continue reading…]
Senior Justice Department and FBI officials expressed frustration Friday that FBI Director Kash Patel publicly disclosed an investigation into what he called a “potential” Halloween weekend terrorist plot near Detroit — before investigators had a chance to flesh out key details, including whether the attack actually was imminent, two people familiar with the matter told MSNBC.
At 7:32 am Friday, Patel posted on X: “This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend. More details to come.”
Justice officials registered concern that Patel appeared to have acted hastily on the probe without Main Justice’s approval, with the apparent goal of seeking some credit for the FBI, but in a way that could interfere with the investigation, according to the sources. MSNBC has not named them as they fear retaliation. [Continue reading…]