FBI Arrests Energy Department Employee for Alleged Support of Houthi Rebels

A Department of Energy electrical engineer has been arrested on charges of providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, including purchasing materials for homemade explosives and drones, and traveling to Yemen, according to the Justice Department on Thursday. Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday and is scheduled for his first court appearance on Friday. Court records do not indicate an attorney available to comment on his behalf. The FBI states that Ellaboudy aimed to assist the Houthis in enhancing their communications capabilities and traveled to Yemen in September, where the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces are currently engaged in renewed violence that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands. The conflict began in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebels seized control of the capital, Sanaa, forcing the government to operate in exile in Saudi Arabia. Upon returning to the United States, authorities report that Ellaboudy informed Customs and Border Protection officials that he was returning from Oman on a work trip and was part of a U.S. government mission to inspect missile defense systems. However, his supervisor stated he was unaware of any international travel or an Energy Department missile inspection program that Ellaboudy would have been assigned to, according to an FBI affidavit. Ellaboudy allegedly told FBI informants, introduced into the investigation, that he needed to be smuggled into and out of Yemen and hoped to establish government-level connections in the capital. The FBI noted that he was unable to reach Sanaa. Investigators began looking into Ellaboudy after discovering that he had purchased precursor chemicals commonly used in the construction of homemade explosive devices, such as acetone and sodium bisulfate, along with drone components. Throughout the investigation, the FBI reported that he communicated with several informants, including one posing as a Houthi colonel, and provided advice on communications equipment. Ellaboudy faces charges under a law prohibiting material support to groups designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Houthis. John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, described the allegations as deeply disturbing in a statement.