2 more men charged in FBI investigation related to alleged Halloween plot in Michigan

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Authorities in New Jersey have charged two more young men in a sprawling federal investigation of an alleged terrorism-style attack planned for suburban Detroit.

The allegations against Tomas Jimenez-Guzel and Saed Mirreh, both 19, do not specifically focus on Michigan, where three people were charged, but they have a connection. Investigators said the two were poised to travel abroad and fight for the Islamic State group.

Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh were charged Wednesday with conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. Jimenez-Guzel faces an additional charge of attempting to provide material support.

The Montclair, New Jersey, man was arrested Tuesday while trying to fly to Turkey from the airport in Newark, the FBI said. Mirreh was arrested in Kent, Washington, where he lives.

They had discussed "comprehensive plans" to travel abroad for Islamic State, the FBI said in a court filing in Newark.

Those plans picked up speed after the Oct. 31 arrests of several people in the Detroit area with whom they had been communicating, the FBI said.

“IF we don’t leave, we are cooked. ... We are gonna be in Turkey tomorrow," Jimenez-Guzel told a confidential FBI source, according to the court filing.

Messages seeking comment from their attorneys were not immediately returned Friday.

In Michigan, three young men have been charged with conspiracy and receiving and transferring guns and ammunition for an attack. Investigators said a group chat between the men indicated they were planning a Halloween attack with repeated references to pumpkins and pumpkin emojis.

The possible targets, according to the FBI, were LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit. One man also scouted Cedar Point, an amusement park in northern Ohio. Separately, The Detroit News reported Friday that a 16-year-old boy is in federal custody as part of the investigation.