Federal prosecutors say a Michigan would-be terrorist used AI to plan a Halloween attack
Michigan terrorist wannabe used AI to plot Halloween attack, feds say
At a detention hearing in Detroit, U.S. federal prosecutors said that Ayob Nasser, 20, of Dearborn, Michigan, used ChatGPT to help plan a Halloween mass shooting and took part in scouting locations on the ground. The ChatGPT queries and web searches cited by prosecutors included whether Sharia law supports killing homosexuals, whether martyrs enter paradise, and the rules of war in Islam. Prosecutors said he and a co-defendant scouted Cedar Point amusement park and a Ferndale dance hall in September 2025 and stockpiled firearms and ammunition. Nasser is charged with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and other offenses, carrying a maximum sentence of 35 years; the judge ordered him held in pretrial detention, with trial set for May 2027. The defense said the case centers only on speech, with no target, date, or explosives.