Feds: Michigan Halloween terror suspects included Cedar Point as possible target

The Dearborn, Michigan, suspects arrested in the Halloween terror plot also reportedly cased the popular Cedar Point amusement park as a possible attack location, according to the FBI.

The FBI arrested three people, two of them brothers, in connection with what is being called a “thwarted terror” attack out of Dearborn. More details came to light on Wednesday in a criminal complaint, indicating Cedar Point, on the shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio, was on their radar.

Top Trump officials have been sounding the alarm about potential ISIS terror cells being in the country, fueled in part by President Joe Biden’s lax border rules and lenient immigration policies.

According to recent reports based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, migrants from over 100 countries have appeared at the border in recent years.

The FBI probe suggests Cedar Point was being considered as a possible site, along with locations in Ferndale, Mich., or a New Year’s Eve celebration, according to court filings.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the investigation and foiled plot on Friday, Oct. 31. A series of encrypted phone calls — secretly recorded by a confidential FBI source — plus visits to gun ranges and secret meetings in parks alerted federal agents that a group was allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired terror attack in Michigan, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday.

Officials charged Mohmed Ali, 20, and Majed Mahmoud, 20, earlier in the week for allegedly conspiring to target locations in Ferndale on Halloween weekend.

On Wednesday, Ayob Nasser, 19, was also arrested in Dearborn. Nasser is the brother of Mohamed Ali and linked to Majed Mahmoud, FOX 2 Detroit reported.

🇺🇸 Two Michigan men—Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both 20 and from Dearborn—have been charged in connection with an ISIS-inspired terror plot targeting LGBTQ-friendly bars in Ferndale, near Detroit.

Federal authorities say the suspects planned a Paris-style mass shooting for… https://t.co/0hSVxRNukr pic.twitter.com/aum5N5tI8x

— Info Connect (@infoconnectnow) November 4, 2025

The suspects have been charged with conspiring to provide material to support ISIS and having firearms that would be used to commit an act of terrorism on behalf of ISIS.

“The FBI stopped a massacre before it could happen,” Patel shared on social media earlier this week. “Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit- stockpiling weapons, scouting targets, and training at gun ranges. This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”

The FBI stopped a massacre before it could happen.

Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit- stockpiling weapons, scouting targets, and training at gun ranges.

This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives. pic.twitter.com/IHYga46Ynt

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 3, 2025

In the criminal complaint released Wednesday, it does not mention Cedar Point by name but includes identifying details about the amusement park, Click on Detroit reported.

“Based on my training and experience, I believe that Person 2 and Nasser’s visits to the amusement park are consistent with Person 2 and Nasser scouting the amusement park as a possible attack location,” FBI special agent Nicholas Czech wrote in the complaint.

The suspects made a trip to Cedar Point on Sept. 18. According to the complaint, cellphone location data shows Nasser and another person — referenced as “Person 2” — left a Dearborn home on Sept. 18, 2025, and went to “an amusement park in the Midwest, approximately three hours from Dearborn.”

Security footage from the amusement park showed them arriving in Ali’s vehicle around 11:40 a.m., but the park didn’t open until 6 p.m. that day for Halloweekends.

A staff member reportedly told the two individuals to turn around and leave, FBI officials said.

“Nasser continued past multiple turnaround opportunities and proceeded around a road that surrounds the amusement park,” the complaint reads. “This road is open to vehicle traffic for hotel guests, guests of a marina, and a restaurant.”

While they were in the area of the amusement park, at 12:13 p.m., Nasser called Ali, according to phone records.

Nasser and “Person 2” returned to the amusement park the following day, on Sept. 19, 2025, the complaint states. Phone records indicate they left Dearborn at 9:06 a.m. and got to the park at 11:20 a.m., which was hours before it opened.

On that visit, video footage shows the pair at a ticket booth at 11:45 a.m., and they used a credit card registered to a home linked to “Person 2” to buy two single-day admission tickets, according to the FBI.

At 11:48 a.m. Sept. 19, Ali’s vehicle was in an empty parking lot next to the amusement park. Nasser and the other person walked around in the parking lot for about one minute, the complaint states.

A security worker talked to them and they said they were waiting for the park to open, according to authorities. The worker told them they had to wait in their vehicle or leave until the park opened, which wasn’t until 6 p.m. due to the special Halloween event.

Ali’s vehicle left the lot at 12:19 p.m. and returned to the road surrounding the park, the FBI said.

Their phone location data indicates they stayed in the vicinity of the amusement park until 5:39 p.m. They returned to Dearborn at 7:56 p.m., the complaint states.

According to other details in the complaint, Nasser searched multiple maps of the amusement park online. This was on Sept. 16, 2025, two days before the first trip to the park.

The FBI also searched a computer seized at the home of Ali and Nasser in Dearborn. Investigators found a search for, “Is it crowded on halloweekend at (amusement park),” according to the complaint.

Ayob Nasser is also named in a civil suit filed weeks ago by Fortnite, a popular online gaming platform. He was allegedly using bots to boost performance and make money from the platform, FOX 2 Detroit reported.

Officials with Six Flags Entertainment Corp., which owns Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, confirmed working with the FBI. The safety and security of guests and associates is a top priority, according to a statement.

“Cedar Point assisted the FBI on this investigation, as the individuals were recently observed on park property,” officials said. “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.”