FBI Arrests Oct. 7 Terrorist in US

An alleged terrorist who participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel is currently being held in a Louisiana jail, charged earlier this month with entering the United States using a fraudulent visa given to him by the Biden administration, according to a criminal complaint and inmate records.

Federal prosecutors charged Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub al-Muhtadi, 33, with visa fraud and support for a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday that details his alleged participation in Hamas’s slaughter of more than 1,200 Israelis. Al-Muhtadi is currently being held in the Saint Martin Parish Correctional Center in St. Martinville, La., inmate records show.

Al-Muhtadi, also known as Abu Ala, allegedly served as an operative in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (DFLP) military wing, a Gaza-based terror outfit that stormed through Israel on Oct. 7. When Al-Muhtadi "learned about the Hamas invasion," he allegedly "armed himself, alerted others, and crossed into Israel with the intention of assisting in Hamas’s terror attack," according to the criminal complaint, which is based on testimony from an FBI agent.

Federal investigators determined al-Muhtadi was present in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, "the location of a horrifying massacre by Hamas and its supporters," based on geolocational data gathered from his cell phone. Israel’s security services provided additional information about al-Muhtadi’s terrorist ties, the complaint states.

Shortly after Hamas breached Israeli territory, al-Muhtadi began "coordinating a group of armed fighters to join him in traveling from Gaza into Israel to participate in Hamas’s attack," the complaint alleges. About three hours after the first wave of fighters crossed into Israel, al-Muhtadi arrived near Kfar Aza.

Hamas and Gazans murdered more than 60 civilians in that kibbutz, including at least 4 Americans, and kidnapped 19 others. One of the 19 kidnapped was also American.

On June 26, 2024, less than a year after Oct. 7, an individual named "Mahmoud Almuhtadi" submitted an immigrant visa application to the Biden administration’s State Department. The alleged terrorist swore in the document he was not a member of a militant organization and "did not seek to engage in terrorist activities while in the United States," according to portions of that application described in the complaint.

By Sept. 12, al-Muhtadi had entered the United States via Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, where he was photographed upon arrival. In the subsequent weeks and months, al-Muhtadi allegedly exchanged messages with his terrorist allies abroad, and even posted pictures of himself draped in a keffiyeh loading a nine-millimeter handgun.

"Additional photographs show what appear to be al-Muhtadi’s children handling and posing with what appears to be the same gun," according to the complaint. Witnesses in Tulsa, Okla., where al-Muhtadi lived at the time, confirmed the photos were taken in his apartment.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a Washington Free Beacon request for comment on al-Muhtadi’s visa application and the ensuing review process, which typically includes a scan of the applicant’s social media feeds.

Israel alerted American authorities in May of this year that al-Muhtadi "was a DFLP operative and member of DFLP’s military wing," which participated in the Oct. 7 attacks. A subsequent review of his social media and email accounts revealed "extensive evidence of al-Muhtadi’s affiliation" with the DFLP’s National Resistance Brigades, according to the complaint.

Photographs supplied by the FBI allegedly show al-Muhtadi and other terrorist operatives in military fatigues training with Russian-made firearms. Social media messages dating back to 2019 indicate al-Muhtadi swore allegiance to the National Resistance Brigades and was awarded a weapon, 3 magazines, and 90 bullets.

Other photos show al-Muhtadi posing with a group of armed militants in National Resistance Brigades paraphernalia.

At the time of his arrest, al-Muhtadi was living in Lafayette, La., and working at a restaurant, where he was surveilled by the FBI.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement the Justice Department is committed to bringing consequences to bear for terrorists like al-Muhtadi.

"After hiding out in the United States, this monster has been found and charged with participating in the atrocities of October 7—the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust," Bondi said. "While nothing can fully heal the scars left by Hamas’s brutal attack, this Department’s Joint Task Force October 7 is dedicated to finding and prosecuting those responsible for that horrific day, including the murder of dozens of American citizens. We will continue to stand by Jewish Americans and Jewish people around the world against anti-Semitism and terrorism in all its forms."