Overview
- Federal prosecutors say Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al‑Muhtadi, 33, was arrested in Lafayette and charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and visa fraud.
- An FBI complaint alleges he was an operative of the National Resistance Brigades, helped organize armed fighters, crossed from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and was placed by phone data near Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
- Transcripts cited by investigators show messages telling associates to “get ready,” to “bring the rifles,” a request for a “full magazine,” and references to kidnappings during the assault.
- Prosecutors say he applied for a U.S. immigrant visa in Cairo in June 2024, entered through Dallas–Fort Worth in September 2024, lived in Tulsa before relocating to Lafayette, and posted photos online with a handgun.
- The Justice Department says Joint Task Force 10‑7 and the FBI New Orleans Field Office are investigating with Israeli authorities; he is being held in St. Martin Parish pending further federal proceedings.