by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – U.S. authorities have charged a third Michigan man in connection with an alleged Islamic State-inspired plot to carry out attacks over Halloween weekend, officials confirmed Thursday — just weeks after the public assassination of born-again Christian leader Charlie Kirk.
Federal investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Ayob Nasser, 19, was arrested Wednesday and accused of scouting potential targets, including the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio.
According to court filings, the suspects discussed attacking LGBTQ+ venues in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb known for its annual Pride events.
Nasser, his brother Mohmed Ali, and Majed Mahmoud face federal charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization and receiving and transferring firearms and ammunition for terrorism. Two minors, identified only as Person 1 and Person 2, were also allegedly involved in the planning.
AMERICAN JEWISH CENTER
The FBI said the men used encrypted group chats with codewords such as “pumpkins” to refer to the planned attack. In one exchange, a conspirator mentioned an “American Jewish Center,” and Nasser replied, “Pumpkin sounds good now.”
Agents recovered AR-15-style rifles, handguns, tactical gear, and GoPro cameras during searches of homes, a storage unit, and an auto-repair shop linked to the suspects in Dearborn, Michigan. Surveillance data also showed online searches such as “is it crowded on halloweekend.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba confirmed that additional suspects have been charged, while U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. vowed: “We will follow the tentacles where they lead and continue to stand guard with the FBI against terrorism.”
Attorneys for the defendants declined to comment or described the allegations as “fear-mongering.” Court records also show Nasser had previously been sued by the creators of the video game Fortnite for operating fake “bot” accounts that generated illicit payments.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION FALLOUT
The terror-plot revelations come less than two months after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, 36, was fatally shot in the neck on September 10, 2025, during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
His widow, Erika Kirk, gave an emotional interview aired on Wednesday describing her husband’s final moments, saying she has never watched the video of his assassination and never will.
“There are certain things you can never unsee,” she told broadcaster Fox News. “I don’t want my husband’s public assassination to be something I ever see, and I don’t want my children to see it.”
Erika Kirk said she was comforted knowing that Charlie “did not suffer,” explaining that “he blinked, and he was with the Lord.”
“You thought you could stop what he built,” she added. “You only got his body — not his soul.”
Erika Kirk will receive the first-ever Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards in New York on Thursday, honoring her husband’s Christian leadership and his influence among America’s young conservatives.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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