FBI Director Kash Patel said federal agents disrupted four terror plots during the 2025 holiday season, including an alleged Halloween attack tied to ISIS-inspired suspects in Michigan.
Patel discussed the cases during an appearance on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, where he said the FBI prevented multiple attacks planned for Texas, Florida, New York and the Detroit area.
The FBI director described one alleged scheme as the “Pumpkin Day” plot, referencing a codename investigators said suspects used while discussing a planned mass shooting targeting a Detroit suburb during Halloween celebrations.
According to Patel, the bureau stopped the attacks over a four-week period during December while working with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across multiple jurisdictions nationwide.
Patel said the threats highlighted continuing concerns inside the FBI about the possibility of a large-scale terror attack occurring on US soil despite recent disruptions and arrests involving extremist suspects.
“We are the folks that are responsible for safeguarding America,” Patel said during the interview. “We’re doing everything we can to not miss anything.”
Patel said concerns about terrorism remain one of the biggest pressures facing federal law enforcement officials as agencies monitor extremist groups and online radicalization networks linked to potential domestic attacks.
He also warned that terrorist organizations remain patient and continue searching for opportunities to carry out high-profile attacks similar to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the US in 2001.
“The thing about terrorists is they’re exceedingly patient,” Patel said while discussing long-term national security threats facing the FBI and other federal intelligence agencies involved in counterterrorism operations.
Federal authorities previously announced charges against a North Carolina man accused of plotting a New Year’s Eve attack involving knives and hammers targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant.
Patel said investigators successfully disrupted that alleged plot before any attack occurred and credited cooperation between agencies for helping identify suspects and potential targets before violence took place, per Trending Politics.
The FBI director also said artificial intelligence tools are playing an increasingly important role in the bureau’s counterterrorism and criminal investigative efforts following his appointment to lead the agency earlier this year.
“AI was never used at the FBI until we got there. I’m using it everywhere,” Patel said during the interview while discussing technology upgrades within the bureau.
Patel said the FBI receives thousands of public tips every week and uses artificial intelligence systems to analyze data, identify threats and assist agents reviewing potential criminal or terrorism-related information.
He said AI systems recently helped the FBI stop what he described as a planned school massacre in North Carolina after investigators received a public tip involving a possible threat of violence.
Patel also argued the US withdrawal from Afghanistan increased concerns among intelligence officials that terrorist organizations could regroup overseas and potentially attempt future attacks against American targets or interests worldwide.
