FBI records revealed that, in 2024, an ISIS plot to attack the Chicago Pride Parade with a backpack bomb was discussed on a terrorist website, media outlets reported.
The bombing plot—which never materialized—was to be carried out as the initial part of a series of attacks against LGBTQ+ targets throughout the country, according to an FBI affidavit in a terror case indicted in Detroit.
A federal indictment named Dearborn, Michigan, residents Mohmed Ali, Majed Mahmoud and Ayob Nasser, 19, alleging they conspired to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization. A release stated, “All three were charged in the amended complaint with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS—a radical Islamic terror group that has repeatedly killed Americans. All three are also charged with having firearms that would be used to commit an act of terrorism on behalf of ISIS.”
Claims were made by members of the group “Islamic State of America” in a dark web terrorist chatroom. While there was no attack in Chicago, law enforcement experts say the threat can’t be discounted. The member stated, “InshaAllah We will be att@cking the Chicago pride parade with a backpack,” and “We are planning on starting with a couple small attacks to get noticed and then start growing from there inshaallah,” Fox 32 Chicago noted.
In a media statement, Pride Parade organizer PRIDEChicago stated, “We are grateful to the City of Chicago and our dedicated public safety partners for helping protect the Chicago Pride Parade year after year. This moment reminds us why Pride matters. When we show up, stand together, and celebrate openly, we affirm our visibility and our resilience. We will continue to march in solidarity, with deep gratitude for everyone who helps keep our community safe.”
PRIDEChicago organizers additionally told Windy City Times, “We were not made aware of the 2024 threat until we were contacted by NBC on [Nov. 13, 2025]. We have always been aware that multiple agencies are working to ensure our safety and security on parade day.”
“I am more resolved than ever to continue our mission,” said PRIDEChicago Board Treasurer Ron Thomas in a statement to Windy City Times. “This concern is not unique to our parade. The threat exists everywhere—at any parade or public event, in every queer space and neighborhood, in the simple act of holding hands, sharing a kiss, or simply being visible. But it will not deter me. If anything, it affirms our need to march.”
In May 2024, Windy City Times cited a Politico report that noted the U.S. State Department had issued a worldwide LGBTQ+ travel alert ahead of Pride Month. The alert came a week after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a similar joint advisory warning of potential foreign terrorist violence against LGBTQ+ events and venues.
The current investigation is ongoing.
FBI: ISIS plot against Pride Parade was discussed in 2024
