Overview
- Federal filings allege Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al‑Muhtadi armed himself, recruited others and crossed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with phone data placing him near Kfar Aza.
- Prosecutors say he was affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s National Resistance Brigades, which the U.S. links to the Hamas‑led assault.
- Investigators contend he lied on a June 2024 visa application and entered the United States on Sept. 12, 2024, later living in Tulsa and Lafayette before his October 2025 arrest.
- He is charged with providing or attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and with fraud and misuse of a visa, with the terrorism count carrying a potential life sentence.
- Magistrate Judge David Ayo ordered halal diet, fasting and daily prayers to be reasonably accommodated, and a preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst, as Louisiana lawmakers press DHS for a briefing on his entry and residence.