FBI Arrests Department of Energy Engineer for Allegedly Providing Material Support to Iran-Backed Houthis
A Department of Energy engineer has been arrested after federal prosecutors accused him of attempting to provide material support to the Iran-backed Houthis.
The Justice Department identified the suspect as 51-year-old Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy of Richland, Washington.
FBI agents arrested Ellaboudy on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors say he attempted to provide assistance to the Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
If convicted, Ellaboudy could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The case centers on allegations that the Energy Department employee traveled overseas and attempted to provide technical support to the group.
According to prosecutors, Ellaboudy traveled from Washington state to Oman in September 2025.
Authorities allege he then paid approximately $1,400 to cross from Oman into Yemen with the help of a smuggler.
His intended destination was reportedly Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital.
Prosecutors say Ellaboudy hoped to establish connections with officials there.
He ultimately did not reach Sanaa.
Still, investigators say the attempted journey became part of the broader federal case against him.
Authorities also allege Ellaboudy used an official passport previously issued during his work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
When he later returned to the United States, prosecutors say he gave border officials an explanation for the trip that did not match his actual government duties.
Ellaboudy allegedly claimed the travel was connected to a government mission involving missile defense systems.
Investigators then contacted his Department of Energy supervisor.
According to the Justice Department’s account, the supervisor said Ellaboudy had no authorized international travel and was not assigned to any missile inspection program.
That discrepancy drew additional scrutiny from investigators.
Federal authorities also examined purchases allegedly made by Ellaboudy involving acetone, sodium bisulfate and drone components.
The chemicals were described in the report as substances that can be associated with homemade explosives.
The criminal charge described in the source, however, centers on attempted material support rather than a separate explosives offense.
Another detail cited by prosecutors involved sick leave Ellaboudy took in December 2024.
He reportedly said he had been exposed to highly concentrated nitric acid.
The Justice Department described nitric acid as a chemical commonly used in constructing explosive materials.
The source does not establish why Ellaboudy had access to the chemical or whether the incident was connected to the alleged Houthi-support scheme, per the Conservative Brief.
Investigators later introduced confidential human sources into the case.
One of those sources allegedly claimed to work for a Houthi “Colonel.”
Prosecutors say Ellaboudy used his engineering background to test and modify solar generators and communications equipment.
Authorities allege the equipment was intended for use in a mobile communications center.
Ellaboudy is also accused of supplying schematics and diagrams explaining how power and communications systems could be integrated.
Prosecutors say he researched additional equipment that could potentially improve the Houthis’ communications capabilities.
The allegations place particular focus on whether Ellaboudy’s technical expertise and government background were being used to assist a foreign militant organization.
The source does not say that Ellaboudy transferred classified information.
It also does not identify a specific financial loss suffered by the federal government.
Officials at the Hanford Site, where Ellaboudy worked, separately addressed concerns about whether the facility or its employees had ever been threatened.
“This matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce,” field office manager Ray Geimer said.
Geimer said neither the site nor its employees had been placed in danger.
The case instead focuses on the alleged effort to provide assistance overseas.
The FBI’s Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the matter.
Ellaboudy was scheduled to make his first appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Richland on Friday.
For now, the accusations remain allegations.
But if federal prosecutors prove the attempted material-support charge, Ellaboudy could face a sentence of up to two decades in prison.
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