The lawyer for one of five young men arrested in what the FBI said was a conspiracy to carry out a Halloween terror attack has said his client was only part of a gaming chat.
Amir Makled, who represents a 20-year-old suspect from Dearborn, Michigan, told the Detroit News he thought there was no conspiracy and said he expected there would be no charges. He told the outlet the young men may have been looking at questionable content online, but insisted there was no evidence of a terror plot in any of their communications.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests last week, saying the bureau had “thwarted a potential terror attack.” Little more information about the suspected plot has been released so far.
The group detained are all young men between the ages of 16 and 20, and all are U.S. citizens.
Two people familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press that the alleged terror plot involved suspects talking in a chat room and referencing an attack they planned to carry out on "pumpkin day," referencing Halloween.
“This is not a terrorist cell,” Makled told the Detroit News. “There was never any planned mass-casualty event or terrorism plot of any kind that I’m aware of. They might have been on some websites or online chat groups that they shouldn’t have been, but nothing that is illegal.”
He told WSLS that he did not know "where this hysteria and this fearmongering came from.”
Makled told the AP that he does not expect formal charges to be brought against the suspects due to lack of evidence.
He described his clients as U.S. citizens who were gamers but not terrorists.
“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.”
Investigators said the suspects' alleged plan was inspired by the Islamic State.
Announcing the arrests last week, Patel said that "the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend.”
Sources speaking to MSNBC claim that there was some friction over Patel's decision to publicize the arrests on social media. They claimed the Justice Department is concerned that his comments could jeopardize any future case against the suspects.
