A member of the FBI is seen carrying an item from a home on Horger St. in Dearborn on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.

DETROIT — A Michigan lawyer criticized FBI Director Kash Patel's claims that his client and four other young suspects had plotted to carry out a terrorist attack over Halloween weekend, saying they are merely video gamers who engaged in tough talk online and recreational gun activities.

"These kids are gamers, gamers are weird in the way they talk to each other," attorney Amir Makled told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, following a jail visit with his 20-year-old client on Nov. 1.

The attorney's comments come after Patel announced in a post on X that the FBI arrested multiple people for "allegedly plotting a violent attack." The bureau chief did not describe the alleged plan, nor did he say how many people were arrested or detail the charges they face.

Makled said his client is one of five suspects who were arrested in separate FBI raids on Halloween. He said the all-male group ranged in age from 16 to 20, and all were born in the United States.

Makled maintains that the case is about protected free speech — friends talking tough on the internet — and that there was no plan to harm anyone.

“There is nothing here. There was never any plot," said Makled, who spoke by phone to the Free Press, as he was preparing to visit his 20-year-old client in jail. "What they did was jump the gun, and by that, I mean Patel.”

None of the suspects has been charged. In federal cases, the government typically has 48 hours to charge someone before letting them leave.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office and Jordan Hall, spokesperson for the FBI Detroit field office, declined to comment on Nov. 1.

Attorney: Suspects scrutinized for recreational gun activity, online searches

The FBI said agents searched two homes in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn and a storage facility in the suburb of Inkster with the help of local law enforcement. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer previously said she was briefed by the FBI on the operation but did not offer additional information.

According to Makled, the five suspects landed on the FBI's radar over their recreational gun activity. The FBI was concerned about this activity, he said, and so the agency investigated it.

The suspects' internet activity also came under scrutiny, Makled said, noting the suspects were "going down the rabbit hole of different types of websites."

"It causes the government to pause and look into it, which is fine," Makled said. "That's police work. But don’t use broad strokes and try to paint our kids from our community as terrorists because of that."

Attorney's client says 'they got it all wrong'

Makled said his client, who remains jailed without charges, is in good spirits but is scared and "concerned about the political pressure from Washington."

"He says they got it all wrong. ... There's no plan," Makled said of his client. "There was no plot, and there was no imminent threat of a terrorism event in the state of Michigan at all. And I believe him."

He added that his client is also worried about his family and "what could potentially happen." The family is also hoping the U.S. Attorney's Office sees things the same way and recognizes that there's "nothing there," according to Makled.

"They're praying and hoping that nothing comes out of this," Makled said. "They don't believe their son was radicalized or had any part of a terrorist plot."

Contributing: Christopher Cann and Michael Loria, USA TODAY; John Wisely and Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawyer says Halloween terrorist plot FBI Director Kash Patel described 'never' existed

Reporting by Tresa Baldas, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press

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