FBI Reports Halloween Attack Suspects Conducted Two Surveillance Trips to Cedar Point

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Federal investigators have uncovered a chilling plot involving suspects charged in a Michigan federal court, accused of planning a Halloween terror attack on behalf of the Islamic State. The suspects had reportedly considered targeting Cedar Point in Sandusky and had amassed a significant arsenal, including numerous firearms and over 1,600 rounds of ammunition.

The individuals charged are Ayob Nasser, his brother Mohmed Ali, and Majed Mahmoud. They face allegations of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a recognized terrorist organization, as well as dealing in firearms and ammunition for terrorist purposes, according to legal documents.

Authorities made arrests on Friday, October 31, detaining Ali and Mahmoud. The investigation also revealed involvement from two minors, referred to in court papers as Person 1 and Person 2, who took part in the conspiracy discussions.

On November 5, Nasser, aged 19, was apprehended. Federal authorities claim he was involved in plotting potential attacks on LGBTQ+ bars located in suburban Detroit, with the plans reportedly inspired by the Islamic State.

“We will not relent. We will pursue every lead. Our partnership with the FBI remains steadfast in the fight against terrorism,” declared U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. in an official statement.

The FBI surveilled them for weeks

A federal affidavit alleges that in August and September — while Person 1 and Ali were planning the attack — Ali bought a shotgun, an AR-15 style rifle and firearm accessories including a device that can increase a semi-automatic weapon’s rate of fire, according to the complaint. Nasser and Mahmoud also bought an AR-15 style rifle and accessories.

Investigators found they also obtained licenses for the firearms in Michigan.

According to court records, Nasser was one of two people sued in federal court in October by the makers of the popular video game Fortnite, reported AP. The two are accused of making thousands of fake “bot” accounts that earned “tens of thousands of dollars in unearned payments.”

That month, Mahmoud stockpiled more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition for the rifles he and the others bought, according to the complaint. The suspects then took the rifles and ammunition to numerous practice ranges in October, to “develop their firearms skills,” the investigator wrote.

Surveillance footage from the shooting ranges that month, pictured below, show Ali, in a gray shirt and a gray hooded sweatshirt; Nasser, in a black shirt; Person 1, in a brown sweatshirt; Person 2 in a black hooded sweatshirt:

Person 1, a juvenile, also visited a shooting range in mid-October, according to the complaint. Plainclothes FBI agents were nearby watching as he fired a handgun, an AR-15 style rifle and a semi-automatic shotgun, according to the complaint.

The suspects then scouted potential locations for the attack in Michigan and at Cedar Point in Sandusky, investigators said. One of the juveniles and Ali also asked the father of an “Islamic extremist ideologue” when they should plan the attack. The “ideologue” is known to investigators as being active on social media, as a “cheerleader” for ISIS extremists, but was unnamed in the complaint.

Cell phone location data showed some of the suspects traveled to a nightlife district in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, known as an attraction for members of the LGBTQ+ community. The suspects’ internet search history revealed they had looked up information on the 2016 shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, where an Islamic State-aligned gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.

They were seen at Cedar Point twice, FBI says

Investigators believed that after purchasing at least some of the firearms, the suspects scouted out Cedar Point in Sandusky “as a possible attack location,” reads the complaint.

Cellular location data showed the suspects in September traveled twice to the Six Flags park, which is about three hours from their Dearborn, Michigan residence. They first visited Sept. 18, ignoring workers’ instructions to turn around and leave, instead cruising a road that circles the park. They stayed for about a half hour, leaving hours before the park was set to open at 6 p.m.

They made the same trip the following day, Sept. 19, and stayed for several hours, buying two single-day tickets, but leaving about 20 minutes before the park opened at 6 p.m.

Nasser and one of the juveniles were seen on surveillance cameras near the park that day:

(U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan)

While searching the suspects’ Dearborn home, they found an internet search query that read, “is it crowded on halloweekends” — presumably referring to Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends, which ran this year from Sept. 11 to Nov. 1. One of the suspects also downloaded maps of the park.

App messages reviewed by the FBI suggested the suspects used the word “pumpkin” and pumpkin emojis as code while solidifying plans for an attack on Halloween, Oct. 31, according to the complaint.

A Six Flags spokesperson declined an interview with FOX 8 News on Thursday, but issued a statement that read:

The safety and security of our guests and associates is a top priority. Cedar Point assisted the FBI on this investigation, as the individuals were recently observed on park property. Although there was no substantiated threat to the park, guests or associates, Cedar Point’s advanced security and surveillance capabilities provided important additional information to investigators. Together with additional third-party experts, the park took immediate and appropriate action to ensure the continued safety of all on property.

The suspects later scouted two public parks in Dearborn the following October. FBI agents were once again nearby, watching, as they drove around the city, presumably to discuss “illegal activities,” reads the complaint.

FBI agents gather outside a home in a Dearborn, Mich., neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

FBI makes Halloween bust in Michigan

FBI agents on Oct. 31 served search warrants at the suspects’ homes and a storage unit that had been rented by Ali, according to the complaint. They also got consent to search an auto repair shop operated by Ali and Nasser’s family.

In all, agents seized three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four handguns and nearly 1,700 rounds of ammunition for the rifles, along with dozens of extra magazines — two of which were loaded — body-worn cameras, tactical vests and backpacks and numerous other firearm accessories.

FBI alleges 2 other co-conspirators

On Wednesday evening, acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba in New Jersey said in a video posted to social media that her office had charged two more people “connected” to the alleged plot. Court documents detailing the charges were not immediately available.

The complaint alleges another person living in the U.S. — whom agents had been tracking since 2024 — was a co-conspirator in the planned attack. The person’s cellular phone data showed they stayed at Ali’s home in late June. While overseas the following July, the person allegedly participated in an encrypted group call with several unidentified people, including one person who recorded the call and informed the FBI.

Another alleged co-conspirator said during the call that two people — believed to be Person 1 and Ali — were planning to do “the same thing as France” — presumably a reference to the 2015 ISIS terror attacks in Paris, in which eight militants armed with machine guns and wearing explosive belts killed more than 100 people.

“Yeah we’re not coming back, bro we are gonna die there [in Syria] Inshallah … unless the [ISIS commander] sends you to Paris for a 2015,” the first alleged co-conspirator replied.

When returning to the U.S. the following August, the alleged co-conspirator was interviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Agents reviewing the person’s phone found Google searches related to ISIS and the Islamic State and pictures of themself “in military-style clothing with weapons,” reads the complaint.

The first alleged co-conspirator participated in another group call the following September, where the person talked about traveling to Turkey. The FBI’s informant and an undercover FBI agent were listening in.

“I don’t want to say anything on this call but … there’s going to be brothers doing something else while we go. … Like a nice surprise. That’s all I’m going to say,” the complaint reads.