Habba: DOJ moved ‘swiftly and decisively’ stopping a ISIS-linked Halloween terror plot targeting Jews

Photo allegedly sent by Milo Sedarat online

In the grim annals of our age, where the West's complacency towards its own undoing has become a kind of collective delusion, comes yet another tale of thwarted barbarism, foiled, mercifully, not by some grand awakening of societal resolve, but by the quiet vigilance of those still willing to do the unglamorous work of keeping the wolves from the door. 

The Department of Justice, in a rare display of what might once have been called competence, has dismantled an ISIS-inspired network that stretched like a malignant tumor from the rust-belt suburbs of Detroit to the smug shores of New Jersey. And the target was not some abstract symbol of imperial hubris, but the everyday Jews of a quiet American neighborhood, alongside the usual litany of "infidel" outposts: LGBTQ bars and the like. 

Halloween, that peculiar pagan romp turned corporate confection, was to have been their stage for slaughter.

The plot, as federal prosecutors lay it bare, was a squalid affair of encrypted whispers and adolescent zealotry. It was a "sprawling federal investigation," as the Justice Department termed it, and turned into a cabal of young men who mistook jihad for a video game. At its heart lay the "pumpkin" scheme: a mass shooting scripted for October 31st, code-named with the banality of a child's prank but armed with the lethality of AR-15s, shotguns, handguns, and a stockpile of 1,680 rounds. 

Ayob Asamil Nasser, alongside brothers Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, stand accused in a 93-page indictment from Michigan's Eastern District of conspiring to funnel material support to the Islamic State. They trained at local ranges, swapped ISIS propaganda like contraband trading cards, and eyed Ferndale's gay haunts and a Jewish community center with the cold calculus of butchers. Raids on that fateful All Hallows' Eve yielded tactical vests, GoPro cameras for their snuff-film fantasies, and magazines from a U-Haul unit that might otherwise have hauled pumpkins.

Across state lines, the tendrils extended to Tomas Jimenez-Guzel, 19, of Montclair, New Jersey, and Saed Mirreh, 19, of Kent, Washington, nabbed this week in a New Jersey indictment that knits their fates to the Michigan cell. Selfies exchanged in their fevered group chats, faces blurred in a nod to operational hygiene, show Jimenez-Guzel beneath an ISIS flag and Mirreh in jihadi drag, as if auditioning for a caliphate cosplay. 

They face charges of conspiring to aid a foreign terrorist outfit, with Jimenez-Guzel additionally tagged for attempting flight: arrested at Newark Liberty International as he angled for Turkey en route to Syria's meat grinder. Court papers, cited by the Associated Press, note how their travel frenzy accelerated post the Michigan busts, "picked up speed," as if this were a mere change in itinerary rather than a sprint from the law.

U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, presiding over the New Jersey front, cut through the fog with a statement that, in saner times, would scarcely merit remark. The defendants, she said, "had pledged themselves to ISIS" and were in "frequent communication with the Michigan cell." On Friday, she added: "We will continue to move swiftly and decisively whenever terrorism or hate threatens our communities. The threat of terrorism is real when Americans are threatened. We respond fast, focused and together." 

Words that land like a slap to the multicultural pieties that have long insisted such threats are but phantasms of Islamophobia. In Detroit, her counterpart Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. vowed persistence: "We will not stop. We will follow the tentacles where they lead." And FBI Special Agent Jennifer Runyan echoed the resolve: her team will "continue to investigate, arrest and disrupt all attempts or plots to do harm … to defend the homeland." Habba hailed the cross-jurisdictional tango as "a model of coordination against extremist threats."

The digital spoor of their conspiracy unfurls in the annals of a WhatsApp group dubbed "Muslimeen"—a forum for sharing beheading clips, plotting firearms drills, and syncing the "pumpkin" countdown. Prosecutors see it as one hydra-headed organism: some cells primed for homegrown carnage, others for the foreign lure of the caliphate's corpse. The Michigan trio cools its heels in Detroit custody; Jimenez-Guzel and Mirreh have shuffled through Newark and Seattle courtrooms. Juveniles may lurk under sealed dockets, their youth no shield against the presumptive innocence that cloaks them all—for now. A criminal complaint, after all, is but an allegation; guilt awaits the gavel's fall.

One pauses, amid this inventory of intercepted malice, to ponder the fragility of the veil we have drawn over such realities. These were not grizzled operatives smuggled across porous frontiers, but homegrown recruits, radicalized in the cradle of American liberty, their grievances nursed on the same screens that peddle TikTok dances and flat-earth follies. The Jewish center in suburban Detroit was no accident of selection; it was a deliberate echo of ancient hatreds, repackaged for the hashtag era. And yet, how swiftly the story will fade—eclipsed by the next outrage or apology tour, as our elites tut-tut about root causes that dare not speak their name. The threat endures, not in distant deserts, but in the encrypted chats of the disaffected, where the West's own hesitations furnish the accelerant. Until we confront that truth without flinching, the Habba doctrine—swift, decisive, unapologetic—remains our slender bulwark against the gathering storm.

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LaMonica McIver Steps Deeper Into the 'Find Out' Phase After ICE Detention Center Fiasco

Well, folks, it looks like Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) is learning the hard way that actions have consequences, especially when you tangle with federal law enforcement. 

As HotAir had previously reported, McIver, along with fellow New Jersey House members Robert Menendez Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman, decided to play activist at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark back in May. Their mission? Some vague claim of "oversight." But their mission ended in a chaotic showdown with Newark's Democrat Mayor Ras Baraka in handcuffs and McIver staring at a federal indictment.

Local reports laid out the scene: the trio tried to breeze past the facility’s first checkpoint, only to be stopped cold. Not one to be outdone, Baraka attempted a sneaky side-entrance maneuver, which didn’t exactly win him any points with the feds. 

Things got heated like a wild train jumping the tracks, as the Democrats clashed with ICE officials. Video evidence surfaced, allegedly showing McIver getting physical with officers, which prompted the Trump administration to warn that charges could be coming. And sure enough, they weren’t kidding.

The three Dems, predictably, cried foul. Watson Coleman even let slip a damning admission, essentially confessing they were trying to shield Baraka from the consequences of his stunt. Whoops. That didn’t stop the DOJ from lowering the boom. 

On May 19, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced charges against McIver for “assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement” under Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1). McIver’s response was to call the charges “purely political,” accusing the DOJ of trying to “criminalize and deter legislative oversight.” Sure, Congresswoman, it’s all a vast conspiracy to stop your noble quest for… what, exactly?

Fast forward to Tuesday, and the hammer dropped harder. Habba revealed that a federal grand jury in Newark returned a three-count indictment against McIver for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers.” The potential penalties are a maximum of eight years for Count One, another eight for Count Two, and a year for Count Three. 

Habba didn’t mince words: “Today a federal grand jury seated in Newark, New Jersey returned a three-count indictment charging U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers. This indictment has a maximum penalty of 8 years for Count One, an additional maximum penalty of 8 years for Count Two, and a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison for Count Three. As I have stated in the past, it is my Constitutional obligation as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for New Jersey to ensure that our federal partners are protected when executing their duties. While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve.Today’s decision by the grand jury is the next step in a process that my Office will pursue to a just end.”

McIver, undeterred, doubled down on her defiance, issuing a statement that she “will not be intimidated” and framing the indictment as “an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do.” 

“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges. I will not be intimidated. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/C0aZyrnNx8”— Rep. LaMonica McIver (@RepLaMonica) June 10, 2025

Sorry, Rep. McIver, but the “Trump’s out to get me” card doesn’t quite cover allegedly putting hands on ICE officers. Welcome to the “no one is above the law” reality show, Trump edition. You’ve officially graduated to the Find Out phase.

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DOJ charges Rep. LaMonica McIver regarding ICE incident

Rep. LaMonica McIver, (D-NJ) just got slapped with charges by the Justice Department for allegedly throwing hands and obstructing cops during a wild scene outside an immigration lockup in Newark. This went down May 9, and McIver wasn’t alone; two other New Jersey House Dems were in the mix when things popped off.

Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for Jersey, dropped the news late Monday on X, no less. 

She’s not playing games. In a statement attached to her post, Habba laid it out: “I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Representative McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined.” Straight-up, she’s saying McIver had her shot to settle this quietly but didn’t take it.

Habba doubled down, keeping it real: “No one is above the law – politicians or otherwise. It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work.” That’s a mic drop if I ever heard one.

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Rewind to May 9—McIver rolled up to Delaney Hall with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Dem Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez. Things got heated, and Baraka caught a trespassing charge from the feds. But plot twist: Habba says the DOJ’s dropping that misdemeanor against him. Guess he’s off the hook, but McIver? She’s got some explaining to do.

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Trump sort of fires lawyers for E. Jean Carroll appeal

Former President Donald Trump lost the lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll to the tune of $83.3 million in damages for defamation in 2019 after Carroll accused him of rape and he basically said that she wasn't his type and denied it ever happened.

“I am in the process along with my team,” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media network Truth Social on Tuesday night, “of interviewing various law firms to represent me in an Appeal of one of the most ridiculous and unfair Witch Hunts our Country has ever seen.”

Ms. Carroll went after Trump's money twice. One lawsuit last May accused him of raping her inside Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman in 1996. Number two came in October 2022 when she accused him of defaming her by calling her a "complete con job."

The jury found that Trump sexually assaulted her but did not rape her and awarded her $5 million.

The judge in January’s jury trial, Lewis Kaplan, however, ruled that sexual assault and rape are the same thing and that Trump did indeed rape Carroll.

In that same January trial, Carroll alleged Trump defamed her with statements he made in June 2019, while he was president, shortly after New York magazine published an excerpt from Carroll's book, in which she detailed her claims about the fateful encounter in a dressing room on Bergdorf Goodman’s lingerie floor. 

Trump denied the allegations, called them a “disgrace,” and said that she wasn't his “type,” effectively branding her an unattractive liar. But in all honesty, when you compare all the women that Trump may have boffed, it's obvious that Carroll isn't in the same league. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan

But in spite of that, the jury awarded Carroll a ridiculous $ 83.3 million for these damages.

Trump’s quite attractive lead defense attorney, Alina Habba, told reporters after the verdict that she was proud to represent the former president and would continue to do so in the appeal. “We did not win today,” she said last Friday, “but we will win.”

On Monday, Ms. Habba filed a letter to the judge, who presided over both cases, Lewis Kaplan. She cited a recent New York Post article, which claimed that the judge had a “mentor” relationship with Ms. Carroll’s lead lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, [no relation] when they briefly worked together at the same law firm in the 1990s. Thus, establishing a conflict of interest.

On Tuesday, Ms. Kaplan fired back with her own letter, calling the “mentor-mentee relationship” a “false allegation.”

“I have no recollection from that time period of ever interacting with Your Honor on a case, participating with Your Honor in a client or case-related meeting, or attending a court proceeding with Your Honor. In fact, I remember no direct interaction from that time period with Your Honor at all,” Ms. Kaplan claimed. She referenced the large size of the firm, and that the future judge was a lead litigator, while she was merely a junior associate. 

“While Ms. Habba ends her letter by characterizing this as a ‘troubling matter,’ … what is actually troubling is both the substance and timing of her false accusations of impropriety on the part of E. Jean Carroll’s counsel or the Court,” Ms. Kaplan added and reserved her right to seek sanctions.

Ms. Habba immediately walked back her allegation, explaining to the judge, in yet another court filing, that “the point of my January 29 letter was to verify whether the information contained in the New York Post article is accurate. Since Ms. Kaplan has now denied that there was ever a mentor-mentee relationship between herself and Your Honor, this issue has seemingly been resolved.”

Not a good look for Trump's defense team.

In a small footnote at the very bottom of the page, Ms. Habba wrote, “There are, however, various other issues relating to the Court’s conduct, including potential bias hostility towards defense counsel, that will be raised in post-trial motions and on appeal.”

After Mr. Trump posted that he and “his team” were “interviewing” firms for the appeal, media outlets began reporting that the former president was looking for a “new” lawyer.  

Ms. Habba, who led the defense in January’s courtroom debacle, was often criticized for her behavior in the courtroom by the judge. For example, she did not stand up when she addressed the judge; instead, she spoke to him while seated in her chair. She also did not know, or disregarded, the procedure the federal judge demanded for objections. Ms. Habba had to be reminded numerous times not to raise objections during cross examinations of witnesses her co-counsel, Michael Madaio, had initially questioned.

Not a good look again, for the Trump defense team.

Ms. Habba’s courtroom feud with the judge culminated on the last day of the trial. The defense attorney tried to introduce new evidence for her closing argument, even though both parties had rested their cases the day before. When Ms. Habba did not stop insisting, Judge Kaplan threatened to throw her in jail.

Even a worse look for the Trump defense team.

Habba was not the only one the judge reprimanded. One time the former President's longtime legal adviser, Boris Epshteyn, who also attended the hearings at the Federal Court, and would frequently pass notes to Ms. Habba, and stood up and tried to address the court. The judge reminded Epshteyn that without having taken the required bar exam for the district court, he was not licensed to argue in the courtroom.

I believe that Trump's track record for hiring and firing staff with whom he is displeased is also a problem.

But Trump wasn't wrong when he stood up to the judge after Kaplan ruled that Carroll's allegations of sexual assault was proven fact, and that he wouldn't allow Trump to defend himself against them on the stand.

Of course, when he muttered things the jury heard, or disobeyed Judge Kaplan's instructions, or when he walked out of the courtroom in the middle of his opponents closing arguments the same day the jury deliberated the verdict, wasn't a good look. Worse, the mainstream media reported that Ms. Habba did not control her client. But really now, who can control Trump?

 On Wednesday, Ms. Habba stated that she will remain to represent Trump.  “Hiring a separate firm to handle the appellate process is a normal step in a case of this nature,” she told ABC News, adding that her team will work with the new firm as the appeal proceeds.

Having an appellate specialist represent Trump makes sense, however, and it should be expected. It isn't that he fired Habba, but he's looking to win the appeal and is going about it the smart way.

Many legal observers agree that the various civil and criminal cases against Trump, may end up before the Supreme Court, three of whom Mr. Trump appointed.

On Tuesday, the former President wrote in his Truth Social post, “Any lawyer who takes a TRUMP CASE is either “CRAZY,” or a TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT. I will make my decision soon!’”

Always more to come--always the showman.

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This is Wild! New information might save Trump $83.3 million in Carroll case

Okay, a jury awarded E. Jean Carroll a whopping $83.3 million in damages for alleged defamation by former President Trump that she claimed that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. If you get a gander of Carroll, picture her and Trump some 30 years younger, it seems highly doubtful that this ever happened. She is now, and was then, not the hottest chick by the coop's heater.

Although Trump's courtroom antics didn't help the case, the judge's bizarre orders to hamstring Trump's defense by not allowing him to present exculpatory evidence or defend himself, was disgusting.

But why did the judge do this? Why? Why oh why?

Because the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over the case, has a major conflict of interest. [H/T The New York Post.]

Kaplan, the Judge, was once a "mentor" to Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. While they aren't related, they worked together in the early 1990s at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton &Garrison in Midtown Manhattan.

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, filed a letter on Monday:

If Your Honor truly worked with Ms. Kaplan in any capacity—especially if there was a mentor/mentee relationship—that fact should have been disclosed before any case involving these parties was permitted to proceed forward. This issue is particularly concerning since Plaintiff’s other lead counsel, Shawn Crowley, served as Your Honor’s law clerk, and we were previously advised that Your Honor co-officiated her wedding. 28 U.S.C. Section 455(a) states that “[a]ny… judge … of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

Additionally, Habba pointed out that Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges is quite clear: a judge is required to "disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including" when the judge served as "a lawyer with whom the judge previously practiced law served."

It seems clear that Judge Lewis A. Kaplan worked with Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan and even officiated at her wedding. That sounds like a conflict of interests if there ever was one.

Furthermore, Carroll’s other lawyer was also a law clerk for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. 

The fact that Judge Lewis Kaplan didn’t reveal these conflicts of interest is enough for him to face major consequences, but there is no doubt that he should have recused himself from the case.

Habba is putting him to task and calling on him to confirm or deny the associations. But as we know, lawyers shouldn't ask questions to which they don't already know the answers.

Here, without knowing more information (or having a specific factual denial by Your Honor that you had a mentor-mentee relationship with Ms. Kaplan), we are unable to flesh out our position concerning what specific relief should be requested, including, but not limited to, moving for new trials on the issues of liability and damages. Surely, however, this Court should provide defense counsel with all of the relevant facts. At a minimum, this information could certainly prove relevant to President Trump’s forthcoming Rule 59 motion.

Habba had been planning to appeal the decision due to Judge Kaplan being "overly hostile." Now it's looking even better for Trump because it seems obvious that something here stinks.

“We believe, and will argue on appeal, that the Court was overtly hostile towards defense counsel and President Trump, and displayed preferential treatment towards Plaintiff’s counsel,” Habba said. “Indeed, the rulings, tone, and demeanor of the bench raised significant concerns even before the New York Post’s investigative journalism unearthed these new facts."

At this point, it should be obvious that the legal system is weaponized against him and what this also should tell us is that this will ensure his supporters are going to get themselves to the polls on Election Day.

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Trump accuser drops her lawsuit for defamation

Summer Zervos is a former contestant on "The Apprentice" and was suing former President Donald Trump for defamation on Friday.  

She dropped her defamation lawsuit  that was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that said the case was dismissed and discontinued without prejudice. This means that she cannot file the same claim in the future in state court.

The case had been in litigation for four years and the ruling now is that both parties are responsible for their own costs.

Zervos had accused Trump of groping and kissing her against her will in 2007 in a hotel in Beverly Hills while she was a contestant on his show. The accusation came nine years after the alleged incident, coincidentally right in time for Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign. 

Zervos sued the then-president in 2017, saying that he had defamed her when he publicly called her a “liar” and said her accusations were “totally made up stuff” and “fake news.” Actually, it seems like Trump was being kind to her by simply calling her a liar--she seems to be more of a political whore.

Her attorneys, Beth Wilkinson and Moira Penza, said that “after five years, Ms. Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience.”

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She'll probably go for a book deal because that's what political whores do when they want to get paid for their allegations. Look at Andrew Cuomo, for example.

“Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint and has accepted no compensation,” they said in a statement. 

Until her book deal.

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said in a statement that Zervos ". . . had no choice but to do so as the facts unearthed in this matter made it abundantly clear that our client did nothing wrong,”

“It is so sad when things like this can happen, but so incredibly important to fight for the truth and justice. Only victory can restore one’s reputation!” Trump said in his own statement.

But will Trump run again in 2024?

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