- FBI arrested multiple suspects plotting a Halloween terrorist attack in Michigan.
- Dearborn Police confirmed FBI operations, but said there is no threat to community's safety.
- Group plotting attack linked to foreign extremism, specifics not disclosed.
As people around the country begin to celebrate Halloween this weekend, FBI Director Kash Patel shared on Friday that the bureau arrested multiple suspects who were allegedly plotting a “potential terrorist attack” in Michigan over the holiday weekend.
“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,” Patel wrote in a statement 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,” Patel added.
In a post on Facebook, the Dearborn Police Department confirmed that the FBI carried out an operation in the Detroit suburb Friday morning.
“We want to assure our residents that there is no threat to the community at this time,” the department’s post added, per CBS News.
According to NBC News, the court documents for the case are sealed but it involves federal charges and arrests.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote in a post on X that she was briefed by the FBI on the operation.
“As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders,” she wrote.
Jordan Hall, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, said that FBI agents were present in two suburbs in the Detroit metro area: Dearborn and Inkster. He did not specify if the agents were involved in the investigation Patel had described but added that “there is no current threat to public safety,” per USA Today.
Dearborn borders Detroit and is about 7 miles west of downtown, and Inkster is about 12 miles west of downtown Detroit.
According to NBC News, four senior law enforcement officials familiar with the case shared that the FBI apprehended a group of young individuals who were plotting an attack with a possible reference to Halloween. Those officials reported that the group is connected to some form of foreign extremism but did not say which specific group or ideology.
Patel’s statement comes months after federal authorities reported thwarting a potential mass shooting at a military base in the Detroit area that was connected to ISIS, per USA Today. In that case a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, Ammar Said, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
There is no indication that the two cases are connected.