DOE employee arrested by FBI for allegedly trying to support Houthis in Yemen
A Department of Energy electrical engineer has been arrested on charges of providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The Justice Department has arrested 51-year-old Department of Energy electrical engineer Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy on charges of providing support to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Ellaboudy allegedly purchased materials for homemade explosives and drones, traveled to Yemen, and attempted to establish government-level connections there.
He was arrested after his communications with multiple informants - including one posing as a Houthi colonel - were uncovered during an investigation into his purchase of precursor chemicals and drone parts. Ellaboudy faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
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