Halloween terror suspect from Dearborn ordered held without bond until at least Monday

Robert Snell, The Detroit News on Nov 6, 2025

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DETROIT — A federal judge Thursday ordered a Dearborn man to stay behind bars through at least the weekend amid a sprawling investigation into an alleged Halloween terrorism plot targeting LGBTQ+ friendly clubs in Ferndale and what appears to be the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued the order in the case against Ayob Nasser, 19, one day after Nasser was charged in the latest terrorism case in Metro Detroit in recent years that emerged during a series of FBI raids in Dearborn and Inkster on Halloween. Nasser is charged alongside his brother Mohmed Ali, and Dearborn resident Majed Mahmoud and accused of hatching a plan to commit a terrorist attack in support of the Islamic State.

All three were charged Wednesday with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State and having firearms that could be used to commit terrorism. The gun charge carries a maximum 15-year federal prison sentence, while the material support charge is a 20-year felony.

Nasser shuffled into a first-floor courtroom in downtown Detroit on Thursday, his hands and feet restrained by shackles and handcuffs. He hung his head while waiting for his case to be called and stood mute to the criminal charges.

The judge set a detention hearing Monday for Nasser, his brother and Mahmoud.

"It is very early on in the investigation and I might have something more to say at the appropriate time," Nasser's defense lawyer James Thomas told reporters after the brief hearing.

The case against Nasser was filed amid reports that two New Jersey men also were arrested this week and accused of playing a role in the alleged conspiracy. NBC News identified them as Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzal and Milo Sedarat, both of Montclair.

Nasser and his brother, meanwhile, live in one of two homes raided by members of an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on Halloween.

Nasser is identified as a co-conspirator who practiced shooting firearms at area gun ranges in what the government believes was preparation for a planned attack.

He is accused of buying a rifle in September, while Mahmoud bought an AR-15-style rifle and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition.

Nasser also is accused of playing an active role in scouting potential attack locations in Ferndale and the Midwest while using encrypted messaging apps with unidentified co-conspirators to share extremist and ISIS-related materials, prosecutors allege.

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