The FBI says it thwarted a potential terror attack in a Michigan city. But the community’s residents are skeptical

Dearborn, Michigan (CNN) — Before dawn the morning of Halloween, residents of a quaint, tree-lined Michigan neighborhood were jolted awake by the blasts of detonated smoke bombs and a voice shouting in Arabic.

“This is the FBI. We have a warrant. All residents inside … come out with nothing in your hands,” a man yelled before armed federal agents stormed the home in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.

Shortly after, FBI Director Kash Patel boasted on X the agency had “thwarted a potential terrorist attack” and arrested “multiple” people in Dearborn “allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend.”

Considered to be the heart of Arab America, Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States and has frequently faced Islamophobic and hateful re