A Kent teenager accused of planning overseas travel to join the Islamic State has been ordered detained while a parallel federal investigation in Michigan examines whether a separate group of suspects was preparing a violent attack over Halloween weekend, according to court documents and statements from federal officials.
Saed Ali Mirreh, 19, was arrested Tuesday at his Washington home and charged in the District of New Jersey with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, court records show.
The charges stem from a months-long FBI investigation that also led to the arrest of a New Jersey college student, Tomas-Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, after he arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport with a one-way itinerary to Turkey. Both men are U.S. citizens.
The criminal complaint outlines extensive encrypted communications in which Mirreh, Jimenez-Guzel and others discussed traveling to Turkey and then into Syria to join ISIS fighters.
Agents say the group shared images of weapons, ISIS propaganda, physical training, and conversations about evading detection.
Mirreh allegedly sent images of firearms and an ISIS-branded hat, and the complaint describes the two men taking oaths of loyalty and discussing preparation for violence.
Update on the alleged foiled terrorist attack out of Michigan last week - earlier this week the FBI and partners arrested a 6th subject in connection to the case, this time out of Washington state. This was another individual allegedly providing material support, inspired by…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 6, 2025
Federal investigators say the two accelerated their travel plans after FBI agents in Michigan arrested several individuals on Oct. 31 in a separate ISIS-inspired case.
The Michigan arrests, which took place in Dearborn and nearby Inkster, involved people who allegedly discussed carrying out an attack over Halloween weekend, referring to the holiday as “pumpkin day,” according to two officials familiar with the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed on social media that “multiple people” were arrested in suburban Detroit and said additional information would be released later.
Investigators believe those suspects may have been radicalized online, and the discussion occurred in an encrypted chatroom similar to the one monitored in the Mirreh investigation.
Residents in a Dearborn neighborhood near Fordson High School reported heavy law enforcement activity Friday, with FBI personnel entering and exiting a home and collecting bags and potential evidence.
Agents also searched a storage facility in nearby Inkster.
An FBI spokesperson in Detroit said there was “no current threat to public safety.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she had been briefed by Patel and thanked agents for their quick intervention.
According to the New Jersey complaint, Mirreh, Jimenez-Guzel and others had been coordinating plans to meet in Turkey, travel to Diyarbakir near the Syrian border, train with weapons, and cross into Syria using smugglers.
Their messages referenced jihad, martyrdom, and large-scale violence, with detailed discussions of routes, equipment, and training.
At a detention hearing in Seattle on Nov. 5, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson ruled that Mirreh would remain in custody.
The judge noted Mirreh’s family support, stable housing and lack of prior criminal convictions, but determined that the allegations and his previous involvement in pro-ISIS online activity showed he posed a danger to the public.
Mirreh will remain detained pending an initial appearance in New Jersey.
Jimenez-Guzel, arrested at Newark Liberty Airport earlier the same day, faces two counts: conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
In a separate Michigan terrorism case earlier this year, FBI agents arrested Ammar Said, who investigators say spent months planning an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. Army site in suburban Detroit.
Said’s alleged co-conspirators were undercover FBI employees.
He remains in custody and may be negotiating a plea agreement, according to court filings.
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