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US charges engineer with supporting Houthis, Louisiana brothers and Florida man with financing Hamas

Reporting by The Long War JournalRead the original at longwarjournal.org

Executive Summary

Federal authorities charged a Department of Energy engineer, Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, with attempting to provide material support to the Houthis and two Louisiana brothers and a Florida beauty-store owner with financing Hamas through alleged humanitarian donations. Ellaboudy was accused of attempting to aid Ansar Allah, the Houthi group in Yemen, by acquiring materials for explosives and drones. The brothers were charged with financing Hamas via an alleged network involving Saleem Alzaq, who is alleged to be a Hamas member. Evidence suggests Ellaboudy sought contact with Houthi leadership and attempted to facilitate equipment shipments. The financial network involved Abdel Adhami and his brother Omar allegedly funneling over $83,000 from Abdel and $6,000 from Omar to Hamas between 2023 and 2026.

Facts Only

* Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy was charged by federal authorities with attempting to provide material support to Ansar Allah (Houthis).
* Ellaboudy is a Department of Energy employee working at the Hanford Site.
* Between November 2024 and February 2025, companies reported Ellaboudy purchased chemicals and drone parts, which were shipped to his home.
* Ellaboudy reportedly used concentrated nitric acid to make amateur rocket propellant.
* Ellaboudy reportedly traveled through Oman into Yemen in September 2025 using a US passport.
* Ellaboudy allegedly helped load equipment for a mobile communications station for the Houthis.
* Abdel Adhami and his brother Omar were charged with financing Hamas through an alleged fundraising network involving Saleem Alzaq.
* Abdel reportedly sent money and solicited support after the October 7 attacks.
* From December 2025 to January 2026, Abdel and Alzaq communicated, with Alzaq explaining donations reached Hamas.
* Abdel allegedly funneled more than $83,000 to Hamas while his brother allegedly sent $6,000.
* Raed Yousef was indicted for funding Hamas through a purported humanitarian organization in France and alleged contributions of over $45,000.

Full Take

The narrative presents two distinct but interconnected streams of activity: the material support/logistical effort by an engineer linked to the Houthis, and the financial network supporting Hamas via intermediaries. The pattern involves individuals using specialized knowledge or established social contacts—whether through official employment, online fundraising, or alleged intermediary roles—to channel resources toward designated groups. This structure suggests that illicit financing and material provision are not singular acts but integrated logistical operations where technical expertise and financial mechanisms intersect with geopolitical conflict. The reliance on informants and undercover operations to map this network raises questions about the reliability of intelligence derived from such sources versus direct evidence. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of alleged efforts by individuals in the U.S. (DOE employee, Louisiana brothers) and external actors (Houthi group, Hamas leadership) highlights the complex role of transnational networks in contemporary conflict financing, suggesting that responsibility flows through multiple layers of transactional activity rather than a single originating source. The complexity necessitates questioning where control resides within these chains, and what systemic vulnerabilities allow such activities to proceed under the guise of humanitarian aid or commercial transactions.

From the original · The Long War Journal

Federal authorities in September charged defendants in three cases alleging support for the Houthis and Hamas. The cases accuse a Department of Energy engineer of attempting to aid the Houthis and two Louisiana brothers and a Florida beauty-store owner of financing Hamas, including through donations presented as humanitarian relief.

Read the full story at longwarjournal.org

Sentinel — provisional

Raw score, 0 to 1 (uncalibrated)0.15

No strong signs of machine writing were found in the source article. Provisional estimate, not a finding that a person wrote it.

The model's own note (unverified)

The text reads like a compilation of detailed federal indictments and related reporting, exhibiting the dense, fact-heavy style characteristic of legal or investigative journalism rather than general synthetic prose.

This looks only at the wording of the original source article, not at this page's AI-written sections. A small local AI model made this estimate. It has not been checked against known human and machine texts, so treat it as provisional. It cannot show who wrote an article.

What the model noticed in the source article

Moderate sentence length variance and use of specific legal/journalistic phrasing.

The structure successfully links disparate case facts with timeline markers, suggesting editorial organization rather than pure aggregation.

Use of specific dates and named individuals suggests grounding in documented proceedings, though the sheer density is high.

The narrative flow appears dictated by court documents or official press releases, making synthetic fabrication less likely than standard reporting structure.

Signs the model read as against machine writing

Specific procedural details regarding arrests, charges, and timelines (e.g., September 30, 2025; March 2023) point toward primary source reliance.

The inclusion of specific names, court filings references (NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch), and precise financial figures suggests human-curated legal reporting.