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US Energy Department employee arrested over alleged material support to Houthis

The US Justice Department said an Energy Department employee, Ashton Ellaboudy, was arrested on 1 October and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Houthis, a designated terrorist group. He is due in court on Friday.

3 outlets · 0L · 1C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: The National
Image: Arab News
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

The US Justice Department said on Thursday 1 October that the FBI had arrested Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a 51-year-old Department of Energy employee from Richland, Washington, on a charge of providing or attempting to provide material support to the Houthis of Yemen. The Houthis are designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation, and Ellaboudy is charged under the law that makes it a crime to support such a group. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is accused of acquiring materials for homemade explosives and drones, of travelling to Yemen, and of trying to help the group improve its communications.

According to the Justice Department, in September 2025 he used an official passport issued while he worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers to travel from Richland to Oman and then crossed into Yemen, intending to reach the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa. The FBI affidavit, as reported by AP, says he never reached Sanaa, and that he told informants he had been smuggled into and out of Yemen hoping to make government-level connections. Investigators say they became interested in him after learning he had bought precursor chemicals, including acetone and sodium bisulfate, and drone parts.

The complaint says that in December 2024 he took sick leave, saying he had been exposed to a chemical used in making explosives; the Washington Examiner names it as highly concentrated nitric acid. During the investigation he allegedly communicated with FBI informants, one posing as a Houthi colonel, and advised them on acquiring and fitting out communications equipment for the group. On return, he allegedly told Customs and Border Protection the trip was official government business, but his supervisor told investigators they knew of no such travel or inspection programme.

John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said: "These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination." The Energy Department's Hanford Field Office said the matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford site or its workforce; the Washington Examiner quotes office manager Ray Geimer saying there was no threat to the site's safety or security. Court records do not list an attorney for Ellaboudy; his first appearance is set for Friday 2 October in Richland, Washington. The charges are allegations and no plea has been reported.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Straight report of the Justice Department statement, with links to the paper's wider coverage of Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Emphasis
The charge, the travel to Yemen, explosives and drone materials, and the Hanford reassurance.
Leaves out or plays down
Omits his age, the supervisor's denial of official travel and the lack of listed counsel.
For example
“The Department of Energy Hanford Field Office in Washington said Mr Ellaboudy's alleged activities did not involve an attempt to harm the site or its workforce.” — The National

Right2 outlets

Framing
Reports the charge as a national security case; the Washington Examiner places it in the context of the US war with Iran and calls the Houthis an Iran proxy, while Arab News carries AP copy with Yemen conflict background.
Emphasis
Iran links, the allegedly false official-business claim to border officials, and the supervisor's account.
Leaves out or plays down
Arab News omits the Hanford office's statement.
Charged language
“Iran proxy”“Iran-backed Houthis”
For example
“The defendant’s arrest came amid the U.S. war with Iran, which has remained unresolved for over seven months since its start.” — Washington Examiner
“Iranian-backed Houthi rebels” — Arab News