ISIS-inspired Michigan Gang busted in Foiled Terror Plot Debated ‘Pumpkin Day’ Attack: Source
By Patrick Reilly, Steven Nelson, Marisa Schultz and Joe Marino
Federal investigators prevented a real-life Halloween horror by busting at least five terror plotters inspired by ISIS in Michigan early Friday, sources familiar with the operation told The Post.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
“Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7 and crushing our mission to defend the homeland.”
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
Authorities raided three homes in the Detroit suburbs of Dearborn and Inkster and recovered weapons including legally owned guns, the sources said.
Those arrested were described as home-grown radicals, but authorities were investigating possible foreign contacts of the suspects.
FBI and Michigan State Police vehicles were spotted in a neighborhood near Fordson High School in Dearborn. Investigators walked in and out of a house, with one official collecting paper bags and other items from an evidence truck.
The alleged plotters spoke of launching a “pumpkin day” assault while they were under round-the-clock FBI surveillance and trained at a local shooting range, the sources said.
A juvenile was among those arrested, two people familiar with the investigation told The Post, with one source specifying that suspect is 16 years old.
FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force members stand in front of a home in Dearborn, Mich.
There was internal dissent within the group about whether they should go ahead with an attack on Halloween, with some believing they needed more time to prepare, the sources said.
It’s unclear how well-developed any attack plans were, with one source saying targets did not appear to have been picked out.
Those arrested were described as home-grown radicals, but authorities were investigating possible foreign contacts of the suspects.
Members of the group also were overheard speaking about visiting New York City’s Rockefeller Center and watching the sunrise at the Statue of Liberty — but sources said that trip was planned as a tourist excursion and there is no known threat to the Big Apple.
Law enforcement sources specified to The Post there is no threat to Friday night’s Village Halloween Parade and added that the NYPD assisted in surveilling the suspects, without providing specifics.
An FBI Evidence Response Team member in Dearborn, Mich.
Patel’s tweet blindsided many federal and state officials and charging documents were not immediately available in the case, though FBI Detroit spokesman Jordan Hall confirmed “there is no current threat to public safety.”
A senior US official, who asked not to be identified, told The Post that the Dearborn Police Department was informed in advance of the FBI operation, but Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was not given an early heads-up.
“When Patel posted, nobody had been briefed,” the official told The Post, “so now everybody’s slowly getting the information.”
After Patel’s initial disclosure, Whitmer tweeted: “This morning, I was briefed by Director Patel on the thwarted potential terrorist attack in our state. As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders.”
“Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7 and crushing our mission to defend the homeland,” Patel wrote on X.
In May, the FBI announced the arrest of a man authorities said had been planning an attack against the US Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command in Warren, Mich. on behalf of ISIS.
