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FBI is accused of louisiana man to attend Hamas-led attack Israel on October 7, 2023. Mahmoud Amin Yacoub al-Muhtad lied about his past in order to obtain fraudulent profits. visa to live in usa
Al-Muhtadi was a Gaza-based operative military branch of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the complaint prepared by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Alexandria M. Thoman O’Donnell and submitted to a federal judge on October 6.
He armed himself and assembled a group to cross from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel during the attack, which killed more than 1,200 people, according to an FBI criminal complaint unsealed this week.
During the attack, Hamas also abducted more than 250 people, including dozens of American citizens. This week, Hamas released the 20 remaining hostages after both sides agreed to a tenuous ceasefire in the Palestinian territories.
The complaint states that on his US visa application, al-Muhtadi denied that he was ever involved in terrorist activities, and became a legal permanent resident in 2024.
The complaint states that agents requested an arrest warrant for al-Muhtadi on October 6, but did not specify when or where he was detained. He could be charged with visa fraud and conspiracy to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization, the complaint said.
Inmate records show someone with the same name and age is being held at the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center near Lafayette. He was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday morning.
No attorney was identified for al-Muhtadi in federal court filings. The FBI declined to provide further details to The Associated Press, citing the government shutdown.
According to the FBI, al-Muhtadi’s social media and email accounts revealed years of association with the Hamas-aligned paramilitary group, which also included firearms training.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, after Hamas forces attacked Israel, then-Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif called on “the public” to get involved.
According to phone calls reviewed by the FBI, al-Muhtadi told his associates to “get ready” and “bring rifles”, adding that “kidnapping is happening, and it’s a game, it’s going to be good”. He also asked a colleague to bring ammunition.
The FBI says al-Muhtadi coordinated an armed group to travel to Israel and that during the attack his phone pinged to a cell tower near Kfar Azza, an Israeli village where dozens of residents were killed and about 19 people were kidnapped.
In June 2024, al-Muhtadi submitted an electronic US visa application in Cairo. In the application, he has denied serving in any paramilitary organization or ever being involved in terrorist activities. His application stated that he intended to live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and work in “car repair or food services.” He entered the US in September 2024.
The FBI says al-Muhtadi lived in Tulsa until May but in early June he relocated to Lafayette, where he worked at a local restaurant.
An unidentified FBI agent repeatedly met with al-Muhtadi in Lafayette from July to September this year.
An aide advised al-Muhtadi not to contact anyone from the paramilitary group because he was under surveillance in the US and to avoid posting on social media in support of Hamas. The FBI says al-Muhtadi responded that he could post whatever he wanted, including photos of Hamas leaders, and he would be safe.