From CBS News: Federal officials on Monday for the first time labeled the March 12 attack at a Michigan synagogue as an act of terrorism inspired by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.
Ayman Ghazali, a naturalized citizen from Lebanon, rammed an explosive-laden truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, near Detroit. According to investigators, Ghazali was also armed with a rifle and killed himself after exchanging gunfire with the synagogue’s security guards.
“He committed the terrorism crime of providing material support to Hezbollah,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Eastern Michigan Jerome Gorgon told CBS News, explaining that the attack itself was the support for Hezbollah under federal law.
Ghazali lived in nearby Dearborn, Michigan, and worked at a local restaurant. He became a naturalized citizen in 2017. His two brothers stayed behind in Lebanon and were members of Hezbollah’s rocket unit, which was first reported by CBS News, according to sources in southern Lebanon. The brothers and other family members were killed in a March 5 drone attack by the Israel Defense Forces targeting Hezbollah outposts, sources told CBS News.
The two brothers were reportedly members of the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Now, the FBI has confirmed that Ghazali was definitely inspired by Hezbollah to commit the attack in Michigan.
FBI officials confirmed their findings in a press conference Monday afternoon.
Jennifer Runyan, FBI Detroit Special Agent in Charge, laid out details of the case, including chilling details of Ghazali’s online search history, which she said he had tried to erase, but they were able to retrieve it.
Runyan confirmed that this was indeed a Hezbollah-inspired terror attack, and Ghazali had expressed a desire to kill as many people as possible in the attack. Fortunately, he only killed himself and there were no other fatalities.
🚨 BREAKING: The terrorist who attacked the Michigan synagogue searched “WHAT TIME IS THE TRUMP RALLY IN MICHIGAN” when researching potential targets in response to the Iran strikes
Per the FBI, he also made several other searches, including for synagogue services and the… https://t.co/ZNMTKtUbwI pic.twitter.com/3QrGsBahtX
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 30, 2026
From an earlier report:
Ghazali was born in Lebanon in 1985 and entered the United States on May 10, 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. According to DHS, Ghazali applied for naturalization on Oct. 20, 2015 and became a U.S. citizen on Feb. 5, 2016. Authorities say Ghazali lived near Dearborn, Michigan.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin commented, “Based off the new info from the FBI today, the US welcomed in a Lebanese national and gave him American citizenship only for him to repay it by committing a Hezbollah directed & inspired terrorist attack at a Michigan synagogue in which he had hoped to slaughter Jewish children.”
Based off the new info from the FBI today, the US welcomed in a Lebanese national and gave him American citizenship only for him to repay it by committing a Hezbollah directed & inspired terrorist attack at a Michigan synagogue in which he had hoped to slaughter Jewish children.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 30, 2026
Below is a video of the full press briefing by the FBI Monday afternoon:
BREAKING | NBC News: The FBI says they’ve determined that the vehicle-ramming attack that occurred earlier this month at Temple Israel near Detroit and conducted by Ayman Mohamed Ghazali was a Hezbollah inspired terror attack.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) March 30, 2026
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