US prosecutors have charged a Louisiana resident of taking part in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, as per recently unsealed court papers.
The defendant, 33, reportedly armed him and became part of a militia group that fought alongside the organization in the 2023's attack that claimed the lives of over a thousand Israelis, triggering 24 months of fighting that resulted in the deaths of many additional individuals.
A year following the incident, he allegedly travelled to the US on a fake visa and became a permanent resident.
Mr al-Muhtadi was charged with providing, attempting to furnish or conspiring to provide assistance to a designated terror group and the fraud and misuse of a travel document or other documents.
Reported Involvement with Armed Group
The defendant was reportedly an member of the National Resistance Brigades, the armed branch of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the legal filing brought by the FBI.
He is charged of organizing a "unit of armed fighters" to cross into Israeli territory upon hearing about the raid and requested one individual to "carry the rifles", legal papers indicate.
Mr al-Muhtadi dispatched communications asking others to provide a protective gear for another man and ammunition, prosecutors allege.
Hours following the October 7 assault started, his phone connected to a cell tower near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the sight of a massacre, the documents said.
Judicial Proceedings and Defense
The legal document indicated that Mr al-Muhtadi rejected ever having been involved in acts of terror on his American immigration form.
Upon coming to the US, he lived in a handful of locations before landing in the Louisiana city, where he worked in a nearby restaurant.
He was arrested on Thursday, the Justice Department said.
In a hearing in LA on Friday, he was questioned if he comprehended the charges facing him, an interpreter rendered his response as "affirmative, but there are a lot of things stated here that are so false, I'm innocent", according to reports.
The court filings do not accuse the defendant of specific crimes or killings. US prosecutors have previously indicted senior individuals of the group with the deaths of American citizens on October 7.
