The FBI arrested Department of Energy engineer Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy on a material-support charge tied to the Houthis.

A criminal complaint is an allegation. It is not a conviction. The Justice Department said the charge is attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis. Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg's statement is a prosecution allegation.

The Justice Department said Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis. He was a Department of Energy employee. The Associated Press, in a story published by the New York Post, described him as an electrical engineer and summarized the charge as providing support to the Iranian-backed Houthis. The department's charging language is an attempt. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge on Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. in Richland. The department said that if convicted he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. That figure is a statutory ceiling stated by prosecutors. It is not a sentence.

The FBI said his alleged goal was helping the Houthis improve their communications, and that he traveled last September to Yemen. The complaint, as described by the Justice Department, alleges that in September 2025 he used an official passport previously issued when he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, traveled from Richland to Oman, and crossed into Yemen intending to reach Sanaa, which is under Houthi control. On his return, the department said, he told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that he had traveled on official government business. His DOE supervisor told investigators he had no authorized official travel to that region. The Associated Press, citing an FBI affidavit, reported that he told border officers he was returning from Oman on a work trip as part of a U.S. government missile-defense inspection, and that the supervisor reported no knowledge of that travel or of such a program. The affidavit, as reported by the Associated Press, says he told informants he had to be smuggled into and out of Yemen, that he hoped to reach the capital, and that he did not reach Sanaa. Those are affidavit allegations.

Investigators said the case began after Ellaboudy purchased precursor chemicals used in homemade explosives, including acetone and sodium bisulfate, and parts used for drones. The Justice Department said he communicated with an FBI confidential source who purported to be working for a Houthi colonel, and that he gave advice on communications equipment, including help testing and modifying solar power generators, schematics for setup, and research on other gear. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said, in the department's release: "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. 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." The words "as alleged" are in the statement. Ellaboudy is presumed innocent.