US Energy Department employee charged with aiding Houthis

Washington: A US Department of Energy (DOE) employee has been arrested on charges of attempting to provide material support to the Houthis after allegedly travelling to Yemen and using his electrical engineering expertise to help the Iran-backed group improve its communications capabilities, the Justice Department said.

The FBI arrested DOE employee Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington Thursday at the Hanford, Washington, nuclear site under suspicion of trying to aid the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to the Justice Department. 

He was charged with “attempting to provide material support or resources to the Houthis” after he tried to help the group improve its communications capabilities, purchased materials for homemade explosives and drones and even traveled to Yemen.

Ellaboudy is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge in Richland on Friday.

If convicted, Ellaboudy faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

“As alleged, a US government employee traveled overseas and used his specialised expertise in an attempt to aid the Houthis, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation backed by Iran,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.

“Additionally, Ellaboudy acquired materials for the construction of explosive material and drones capable of delivering these explosives,” Eisenberg said.

According to court records cited by the Justice Department, Ellaboudy came to the attention of the FBI after authorities received information that he had purchased precursor chemicals, components and other materials commonly used to construct homemade explosive devices.

Investigators also found that he had purchased parts used to build drones and remotely operated aerial systems, according to the department.

The criminal complaint alleges that in December 2024, Ellaboudy took sick leave from his job after claiming he had been exposed to highly concentrated nitric acid, a chemical that can be used in making explosive materials.

Prosecutors allege that in September 2025, Ellaboudy used an official passport previously issued to him when he worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers to travel from Richland to Oman.

He then allegedly used the same passport to cross from Oman into Yemen intending to travel to Sanaa, the Yemeni capital controlled by the Houthis.

After returning to the United States, Ellaboudy told US Customs and Border Protection officers that he had travelled overseas on official government business, according to the complaint.

The Justice Department said information subsequently obtained from Ellaboudy's Department of Energy supervisor showed he had no authorised government travel to the region.

During the investigation, Ellaboudy began communicating with an FBI confidential human source who purported to work for a Houthi “Colonel,” according to prosecutors.

The source was purportedly seeking communications equipment for a mobile communications centre in Yemen.

Prosecutors allege Ellaboudy used his electrical engineering background to help test and modify solar power generators and communications equipment.

He also allegedly explained how power and communications systems could be integrated, provided schematics and diagrams for setting them up and researched additional equipment that could improve Houthi communications capabilities.

“This individual allegedly betrayed the US and attempted to aid the Houthis, a designated foreign terrorist organisation, but thanks to the work of the men and women of the FBI, his actions were detected and he is now in custody,” said Jarod Brown, assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division.