Federal agents took a Department of Energy worker from Richland, Washington, into custody and charged him with attempting to provide material support to the Iran-backed Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Fox News Digital reported that Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, faces the accusation after an investigation by the FBI Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force. Prosecutors say he tried to use electrical engineering skills to help the group improve mobile communications, secure drone components, and obtain chemicals for homemade explosives.

The Justice Department scheduled his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge for 11 a.m. on Oct. 2 in Richland. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Officials stressed the alleged conduct did not target the nearby Hanford Site or its workforce.

What prosecutors say Ellaboudy did

Court records described in reporting show Ellaboudy first drew FBI attention after he allegedly bought precursor chemicals and components often used in homemade explosives, along with parts to make drones. The New York Post reported those purchases included acetone and sodium bisulfate, materials tied to explosive production.

In 2024, he took sick leave from his Department of Energy job and said he had been exposed to highly concentrated nitric acid, a compound used in explosive manufacturing. The following year, prosecutors allege he used an official passport from a prior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers role to travel from Washington state to Oman, then crossed into Yemen.

After returning to the United States, he allegedly told border officers the trip was authorized government business. The New York Post added that he claimed it was a U.S. government missile defense inspection mission from Oman, and that his supervisor confirmed no such assignment existed.

Ellaboudy is also accused of advising an undercover FBI confidential human source who posed as a representative of a Houthi colonel. Authorities say he tested solar generators, modified power systems, created circuit schematics, and provided communications support intended for the group.

National security cases often turn on whether federal investigators can document concrete steps toward prohibited aid, a pattern also visible in other high-stakes federal arrests such as the FBI case involving former college athlete Kerr Kriisa on multimillion-dollar fraud charges.

Official statements on the charges

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg addressed the allegations in a public statement.

"As alleged, a U.S. government employee traveled overseas and used his specialized expertise in an attempt to aid the Houthis, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran."

Eisenberg continued with a second statement on the materials Ellaboudy allegedly obtained.

"Additionally, Ellaboudy acquired materials for the construction of explosive material and drones capable of delivering these explosives. These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination."

Just The News carried the same Eisenberg remarks and noted Ellaboudy allegedly provided expert guidance, schematics, and assistance on solar power generators and communications equipment to the undercover source posing as working for a Houthi colonel.

Assistant Director Jarod Brown of the FBI Counterterrorism Division framed the arrest as a counterterrorism success.

"This individual allegedly betrayed the U.S. and attempted to aid the Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization, but thanks to the work of the men and women of the FBI, his actions were detected, and he is now in custody."

Insider-threat and federal custody cases continue to test how quickly agencies move from tip to arrest, much like the separate matter in which a New York man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

No threat claimed at Hanford

Ray Geimer, office manager of the Department of Energy Hanford Field Office, sought to separate the charging case from local nuclear operations.

"This matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce, and at no time was there a threat to the safety or security of the site."

The Washington Examiner reported that Ellaboudy, a Department of Energy employee, was charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis and that he allegedly traveled to Yemen with the intent to visit the Houthi-controlled capital city of Sanaa.

Prosecutors have not publicly released a full inventory of every item allegedly purchased or every schematic allegedly shared. Investigators will need to establish the precise purpose of the overseas travel, the nature of any communications with the undercover source, and whether the materials acquired were intended for explosive or drone use by the designated group.

Federal charging decisions in terrorism-support cases rest on documented steps toward material aid rather than motive alone, and courts will examine the passport use, border statements, and technical assistance claims as the case proceeds.

Travel path and engineering background

Ellaboudy worked as an electrical engineer for the Department of Energy in the Richland area. Authorities say he sought to apply that background to Houthi mobile communications infrastructure and power systems. Breitbart reported he is charged with providing material support to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization after allegedly buying precursor chemicals for homemade explosives and drone parts, traveling to Yemen, and seeking to improve Houthi communications.

The alleged route ran from Washington state to Oman and then into Yemen. After the return trip, border officers heard the claim of authorized government business. Prosecutors cast that account as false. No public results have been released about any specific contacts Ellaboudy may have made inside Yemen beyond the undercover interaction described by the FBI.

Cases that blend technical expertise with overseas travel often raise hard questions about credential misuse and insider access, themes that also surface when the public reviews declassified FBI counterintelligence material on sensitive national-security probes.

The Houthis remain designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran. The charging papers treat any attempt to improve their communications, drones, or explosive capacity as prohibited material support. Ellaboudy has not entered a public plea in the materials available, and detention or release conditions beyond the scheduled Oct. 2 appearance have not been detailed in the public statements.

What comes next in court

The Oct. 2 hearing before a federal magistrate judge in Richland will open the formal process. Prosecutors must present the basis for the charge of attempted material support. Defense counsel can challenge the undercover operation, the passport allegations, and the characterization of the chemical and drone purchases.

Authorities have not publicly confirmed Ellaboudy’s exact job title inside the Department of Energy beyond the electrical engineering description, nor have they released a full case docket number or the complete statutory citation text in the reporting. Investigators will need to determine how far any technical advice progressed and whether any physical materials left U.S. control.

Security-focused arrests continue to draw public attention when they involve government credentials or sensitive sites, including separate incidents such as the Colorado case of an ex-deputy charged after gunfire at sheriff and police facilities.

The Justice Department and FBI presented the arrest as the end of an undetected attempt to transfer specialized knowledge to a designated terrorist group. The Hanford Field Office separately closed the door on any suggestion of a local nuclear threat. Both postures leave the core allegation intact: a U.S. government employee allegedly tried to help an Iran-backed force improve tools of war.

When a federal worker with engineering credentials faces a material-support charge tied to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the public is entitled to a full airing of the evidence, the travel claims, and the undercover contacts. Institutions that clear people for sensitive work owe the country both competence and accountability.