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 situation, with no immediate responses to press inquiries.
The investigation involved discussions in an online chatroom among some of the arrested suspects. According to sources briefed on the investigation, they discussed an attack around Halloween, referencing “pumpkin day.”
Defense lawyer Amir Makled, representing one of the detained youths from Dearborn, stated that federal authorities have not provided him with substantial details but, from his review, he believes no terrorist event was planned. He expressed confidence that no charges would be filed against his client.
“I don’t know where this hysteria and this fearmongering came from,” Makled stated, emphasizing that the group consists solely of young gamers aged 16 to 20.
He noted, “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. But I don’t believe that there’s anything illegal about any of the activity they were doing.”
Authorities claimed after the arrests that there was no further threat to public safety. Patel earlier indicated that the FBI had successfully thwarted a potential terrorist attack planned for Halloween weekend.
Investigators allege that this plan was inspired by Islamic State extremism, with ongoing uncertainties regarding the suspects' capacity to carry out an attack. The references to Halloween were significant enough for the FBI to instigate arrests, according to insider accounts.
Patel praised the vigilance of the FBI and local authorities in thwarting the alleged plot.
