Attack On Michigan Synagogue Was Hezbollah-Inspired 'Act Of Terrorism': FBI

Last Updated:March 31, 2026, 06:44 IST

Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man who was born in Lebanon and became a US citizen in 2016, killed himself during the March 12 attack.

Days after an attacker armed with a rifle rammed his vehicle into one of Michigan’s largest Jewish temples earlier this month, the FBI said on Monday that the attack was an “act of terrorism" inspired by Hezbollah.

Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man who was born in Lebanon and became a US citizen in 2016, killed himself during the March 12 attack. He crashed his truck into the Temple of Israel synagogue before opening fire on security guards and causing an explosion using fireworks.

According to Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit field office, Ghazali consumed pro-Hezbollah ideology prior to the attack. However, the FBI has not been able to verify if he was a member of Hezbollah.

There is no evidence that he had co-conspirators, Runyan said.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, was founded by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982. Both Hezbollah and the IRGC are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the US.

“Had this man lived, I am convinced that my office would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the federal crime of providing material support to Hezbollah," said Jerome Borgen, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Runyan added that the day before the synagogue attack, Ghazali shared photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on social media.  Khamenei was killed on Frbruary 28 after the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran.

He informed that the attacker on the day of the attack, while sitting in the parking lot of the Temple of Israel, told his sister in a message that he planned “to commit a mass terrorist attack."

(With agency inputs)

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