DEARBORN, Mich. – The FBI thought Cedar Point was a “possible attack location” for the Dearborn terror suspects after visits to the amusement park on back-to-back days.
Three people are facing charges in connection with what the FBI is calling a thwarted terror attack out of Dearborn.
Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud were officially charged earlier in the week, and on Wednesday, Ayob Nasser became the third. They are charged with conspiring to provide material to support ISIS and having firearms that would be used to commit an act of terrorism on behalf of ISIS.
In the criminal complaint released Wednesday -- the one that includes all three of the accused -- the FBI outlined information that suggests there might have been a plan to attack the popular amusement park Cedar Point.
While the document never actually mentions Cedar Point by name, it mentions several details about the amusement park that clearly identify it.
Sept. 18 visit to Cedar Point
The complaint says that cellphone location data shows Nasser and another person -- referenced as “Person 2″ throughout -- left a Dearborn home on Sept. 18, 2025, and went to “an amusement park in the Midwest, approximately three hours from Dearborn.”
They left Dearborn around 9:10 a.m., and security footage from the amusement park showed them arriving in Ali’s vehicle around 11:40 a.m., according to the complaint.
The park wasn’t opening until 6 p.m. that day, the complaint says. That aligns with the Cedar Point schedule for Sept. 18 because it was closed until 6 p.m. for Halloweekends.
When Nasser and the other man arrived, a staff member appeared to tell them to turn around and leave, FBI officials said.
“Nasser continued past multiple turnaround opportunities and proceeded around a road that surrounds the amusement park,” the complaint reads. “This road is open to vehicle traffic for hotel guests, guests of a marina, and a restaurant.”
While they were in the area of the amusement park, at 12:13 p.m., Nasser called Ali, according to phone records.
Sept. 19 visit to Cedar Point
The criminal complaint says Nasser and the other person returned to the amusement park the following day, on Sept. 19, 2025.
Their phone records suggest they left Dearborn at 9:06 a.m. and got to the park at 11:20 a.m.
Video footage shows the pair at the exterior ticket booth at 11:45 a.m., and they used a credit card registered to a home linked to “Person 2″ to buy two single-day admission tickets, according to the FBI.
At 11:48 a.m. Sept. 19, Ali’s vehicle was in an empty parking lot next to the amusement park, which was closed at the time, the complaint says. Nasser and the other person were on foot in the parking lot for about one minute, the document says.
A security worker spoke to them, and they indicated that they were waiting for the park to open, according to authorities. The worker told them they had to wait in their vehicle or leave until the park opened, the complaint says.
Ali’s vehicle left the lot at 12:19 p.m. and returned to the road surrounding the park, the FBI wrote.
Their phone location data suggests they left the area of the amusement park at 5:39 p.m. -- still before it opened. They returned to Dearborn at 7:56 p.m., the complaint says.
Search history
The complaint said that on Sept. 16, 2025 -- two days before the first trip to the amusement park, Nasser searched multiple maps of the amusement park online.
When the FBI searched a computer seized at the home of Ali and Nasser in Dearborn, they found that someone had someone had searched, “Is it crowded on halloweekend at (amusement park),” according to the complaint.
FBI believes duo might have been plotting attack
“Based on my training and experience, I believe that Person 2 and Nasser’s visits to the amusement park are consistent with Person 2 and Nasser scouting the amusement park as a possible attack location,” FBI special agent Nicholas Czech wrote in the complaint.
Six Flags’ response
“The safety and security of our guests and associates is a top priority. Cedar Point assisted the FBI on this investigation, as the individuals were recently observed on park property. Although there was no substantiated threat to the park, guests or associates, Cedar Point’s advanced security and surveillance capabilities provided important additional information to investigators. Together with additional third-party experts, the park took immediate and appropriate action to ensure the continued safety of all on property.”
Cedar Point