Federal prosecutors in Louisiana accused a man of participating in the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on Israel and then traveling to the United States on a fraudulent visa, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week.
The complaint described the man, identified in court documents as Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, as an operative for a paramilitary group in Gaza that has fought alongside Hamas. It accused him of organizing other armed fighters in Gaza and crossing into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, following the first wave of Hamas militants.
A 33-year-old man with the same name was held on Thursday at St. Martin Parish Correctional Center, near Lafayette, La., where Mr. al-Muhtadi lived, according to inmate records.
Mr. al-Muhtadi appeared in court on Friday morning, flanked by members of the U.S. Marshals Service and wearing a tan T-shirt, faded green pants and slides. When asked if he understood the charges against him, an interpreter translated Mr. al-Muhtadi’s response as “yes, but there are a lot of things mentioned here that are so false. I’m innocent.”
The complaint said that Mr. al-Muhtadi resided in Tulsa, Okla., as of May 2025. There, he posted photographs of himself and his children posing with a Glock pistol, the complaint said. In June, F.B.I. agents located him in Lafayette, where he appeared to be working at a restaurant, according to the complaint.
