Richland DOE employee arrested on charges of attempting to support Houthis

A 51-year-old Department of Energy employee from Richland, Wash., was arrested Thursday and charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Houthis, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy was arrested Thursday morning and is scheduled to make his initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge at 11 a.m. Friday in Richland, the DOJ said in a press release. "As alleged, a U.S. government employee traveled overseas and used his specialized expertise in an attempt to aid the Houthis, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization backed by Iran," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg in the release. "Additionally, Ellaboudy acquired materials for the construction of explosive material and drones capable of delivering these explosives. These allegations are so deeply disturbing that they almost defy imagination." The arrest follows an FBI investigation that included a search warrant at a residence in the 1000 block of Oxford Avenue in Richland on Thursday. According to a federal affidavit filed Sept. 30 in the Eastern District of Washington, Ellaboudy is accused of attempting to provide personnel, services, expert advice and assistance, and electronic components to Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis. The investigation began after the FBI received information that Ellaboudy had purchased chemicals and components that investigators said can be used in the construction of homemade explosives, according to the release. According to the affidavit, purchases made between November 2024 and February 2025 included nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid, potassium nitrate, aluminum powder, sulfur powder, firework igniter parts and other chemicals and components. Investigators also identified purchases of drone parts. The investigation also examined Ellaboudy's travel to the Middle East. In September 2025, Ellaboudy traveled from Richland through Los Angeles and Doha to Salalah, Oman. According to the affidavit, investigators later determined that his cellphone traveled near the Oman-Yemen border. The DOJ said Ellaboudy used an official passport previously issued to him during his employment with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to cross from Oman into Yemen. Ellaboudy began working for the Department of Energy in Richland in December 2022 as an electrical engineer, according to the FBI affidavit. Before joining DOE, he worked as a technical section engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at McNary Lock & Dam in Umatilla, Oregon. He also previously served as a U.S. Navy construction electrician and later as a Navy Reserve officer. When he returned to the United States, Ellaboudy told Customs and Border Protection officers that his overseas travel had been for official government business, court documents show. His DOE supervisor later told investigators that Ellaboudy had no authorized official government travel to the region and that the supervisor was unaware of any reason that would have required such a trip. The affidavit further states that during a recorded conversation in October 2025, Ellaboudy said he paid approximately $1,400 to be smuggled across the Oman-Yemen border and wanted to travel to Sanaa. The investigation later focused on efforts to provide technical assistance to an undercover agent whom Ellaboudy thought was a member of Ansarallah, documents allege. According to the DOJ, Ellaboudy communicated with an FBI confidential source who purported to be working for a Houthi "Colonel." The DOJ said Ellaboudy provided electrical engineering expertise to help test and modify solar power generators and communications equipment that was purportedly intended for use in Yemen. He also provided guidance on how power and communications systems could be integrated, produced schematics and diagrams and researched additional equipment that could improve the communications system, according to court documents. Ellaboudy recognized solar power and radio communications equipment shown to him by the confidential source and offered to test the equipment because of his experience working with solar power systems, according to the affidavit. The DOE Hanford Field Office said the investigation did not directly involve the site. "This matter did not involve an attempt to harm the Hanford Site or its workforce, and at no time was there a threat to the safety or security of the site," Hanford Field Office Manager Ray Geimer said in the DOJ announcement. The DOJ said the charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if Ellaboudy is convicted. The charges contained in the criminal complaint are allegations. Ellaboudy is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. The Center Square reached out to several numbers publicly listed for Ellaboudy on Thursday, but were unable to reach anyone for comment.