Alleged pro-Hamas Oct. 7 attacker living in Louisiana arrested by FBI
An alleged Hamas-linked terrorist who took part in the slaughter of 60 people on Oct. 7, 2023, at an Israeli kibbutz — and promised it’d spark a third world war — was nabbed this week hiding out in Louisiana in the first case of its kind in the US.
Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub Al-Muhtadi, 33, was cuffed Thursday in Lafayette, La. where he had been living and working after lying on visa documents about his involvement in terrorism against Israel, according to a criminal complaint.
In actuality, Al-Muhtadi was a member of a Hamas-linked military group and when he heard about the Oct. 7 massacre, he rallied other terrorists, crossed into Israel and participated in a slaughter of an Israeli village, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, that day, the feds allege.
The Kfar Aza massacre resulted in the murder of 60 people and the kidnapping of 19 – including the deaths of four Americans and the capture of one more, alleges the complaint filed in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana.
Al-Muhtadi, a senior official who trained youth militants in the National Resistance Brigades (NRB), a military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), heard the call to arms from Hamas commander Mohammed Deif at 8:12 a.m. on that tragic day and sprung to action, the filing alleges.
“He spent the next two hours coordinating a group of armed fighters to join him in traveling from Gaza to Israel to participate in Hamas’s attack,” and by 10:01 a.m., cell phone data placed Al-Muhtadi near Kfar Aza, the court papers allege.
In the preceding hours, Al-Muhtadi giddily discussed Hamas’ attack and planned how he and his men would join in, in a series of phone calls reviewed by a US law enforcement agent, which the complaint lays bare.
“We are ready man. And if you want me to go east with you, I’m ready,” one recruit told Al-Muhtadi in an 8:12 a.m. call, the complaint alleges.
“Get ready … The borders are open I swear,” Al-Muhtadi responded.
In an 8:42 a.m. call with another man, Al-Muhtadi said: “There is lots [sic] of soldiers [Israel Defense Forces soldiers] that have been kidnapped … it’s a game, which will be a good one.”
“If things go the way they should, Syria will take part, Lebanon will take part … it’s going to be a third world war … it will be a war of attritions. That will be perfect,” he added.
Other calls Al-Muhtadi made on Oct. 7, 2023, included him urging others to “bring the rifles,” ammunition and magazines, according to court papers.
Among those murdered by Hamas and militants in Kfar Aza that day were Americans, including a 38-year-old woman and her photographer husband; a 67-year-old woman and her husband; and a 22-year-old American serving in the Israel Defense Forces who came to help the kibbutz, the complaint says.
The 38-year-old woman’s 3-year-old daughter was captured and held as a hostage for 50 days, the filing added.
After participating in the horrific attacks, Al-Muhtadi applied for a US visa from Cairo, Egypt on June 26, 2024.
On the application forms, he falsely claimed he didn’t have any specialized military training, he wasn’t part of a military group, he had never engaged in terrorism and wasn’t a member of such an organization. He also claimed he never murdered anyone, the complaint alleges.
Al-Muhtadi first migrated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 12, 2024, claiming he planned to work in car repairs or food services, the filing alleges.
A few days later, he sent a message to his friends saying he couldn’t post anymore about Hamas now that he was in the US, the complaint claims.
But in a Feb. 20, 2025, social media post, he flaunted a Glock 26 9mm gun, the complaint alleges, including pictures of the firearm.
The FBI first located him in Lafayette in June 2025, the complaint specifies.
Al-Muhtadi appeared in Lafayette federal courtroom Friday morning on one count of fraud and misuse of a visa and one count of providing or attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He has not yet entered a plea in the case.
Al-Muhtadi was ordered held without bail until a detention hearing on Wednesday.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted on the terrorism charge alone.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi lauded the arrest that was carried out by the Joint Task Force 10-7, which is responsible for prosecuting people involved in the terror attack on Israel.
“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.”
Retired FBI counter terrorism Special Agent Lara Burns told The Post Friday she anticipates additional arrests by US authorities of anyone who came to the country after taking part in the attacks on Israel.
“I believe it’s only the first [arrest], of probably a few, that we will see like this,” said Burns, who investigated Hamas for eight years.
Burns – who now heads terrorism research at George Washington University – said investigators had to “parse” through a huge amount of evidence and digital data from “an attack of that scope” to bring the new charges against Al-Muhtadi.
The first arrest “may be indicative of the fact that they are making progress in linking individual actors to the attacks of that day and, if so, you may see more arrests coming in the future,” Burns said.
“I think this is a very positive step in holding those accountable who participated in the atrocities that day,” she said. “It’s sending the message that no matter how long it takes, when the US government identifies perpetrators of the terrorist attack, justice will be served.”
In total, roughly 1,200 people were killed that day by Hamas, including 49 Americans. Another 250 people were abducted, including 8 Americans.
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