DOE employee charged with trying to aid Iran-backed Houthis

The U.S. Department of Justice arrested Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a 51-year-old Department of Energy worker from Richland, Washington, on Thursday and charged him with attempting to provide material support to the Iran-backed Houthis. Federal prosecutors allege Ellaboudy used his electrical engineering expertise to help the designated Foreign Terrorist Organization improve mobile communications infrastructure, secure drone components, and obtain chemicals for homemade explosives.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stated that Ellaboudy traveled overseas and leveraged his specialized skills to aid the group. Eisenberg added that the defendant acquired materials for constructing explosives and drones capable of delivering them, describing the allegations as deeply disturbing. The FBI's Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force conducted the investigation that led to Ellaboudy's custody.

Court records indicate Ellaboudy first drew FBI attention after purchasing precursor chemicals and components often used in homemade explosives and drones. In 2024, Ellaboudy took sick leave from his Department of Energy position, claiming exposure to highly concentrated nitric acid, a key compound in explosive manufacturing. In 2025, prosecutors allege he used an official passport from his prior role with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to travel from Washington state to Oman, then crossed into Yemen. Upon returning to the United States, Ellaboudy told border officers the trip was authorized government business.

Investigators reported that Ellaboudy advised an undercover FBI confidential human source posing as a representative of a Houthi colonel. According to the statement, Ellaboudy evaluated solar power units, altered electrical systems, drafted circuit designs, and assisted the organization with its communication networks. Jarod Brown, Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said Ellaboudy betrayed the United States in an attempt to aid the Houthis but was detected and placed in custody.

Ray Geimer, office manager of the Department of Energy Hanford Field Office, confirmed that Ellaboudy's alleged activities did not target local nuclear facilities. Geimer stated the matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce and that there was no threat to the site's safety or security at any time. If convicted, Ellaboudy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Richland at 11 a.m. on Oct. 2.