Man Charged with Molotov Cocktails Pleads Not Guilty at Federal Hearing

On Thursday, a courtroom in Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Courthouse heard a familiar scene: a defendant flanked by an interpreter, a federal public defender at his side, and a pair of ankle shackles glinting under the fluorescent lights. That defendant was 31‑year‑old Hamed Alsaidi, a Jordanian national who police say was found carrying a backpack stuffed with eight Molotov cocktails when he was stopped in Mokena on Aug. 1.

Alsaidi entered a plea of not guilty to eight counts of possessing an unregistered destructive device – one count for each alleged cocktail. Each count carries a potential ten‑year prison term and a fine that can reach $250,000. “The purpose of today’s hearing is informational,” said Judge Young B. Kim, who briefed Alsaidi on the charges, his rights, and the steps that lie ahead.

Prosecutors, led by Davis Shugrue, didn’t waste time. They asked the judge to keep Alsaidi behind bars while the case moves forward, arguing that the felony charges involve a dangerous destructive device. A detention hearing is now set for 10 a.m. on Sept. 14 at the same courthouse.

Alsaidi’s path to federal custody has been a bit of a maze. After the Mokena Police Department arrested him, Will County prosecutors slapped him with state charges for unlawful use of weapons and for giving a fake name to an officer. A county judge released him to house arrest with electronic monitoring, but ICE had already placed a detainer on him.

Because Illinois’ Trust Act bars state law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, the Will County sheriff’s office said it couldn’t honor the detainer. Two days later, ICE showed up in Oak Forest – where federal prosecutors say Alsaidi last lived – and took him into what they called a “targeted enforcement operation.” Oak Forest officials said they had no knowledge of the ICE action.

Since then, Alsaidi’s whereabouts have been a moving target. An ICE website once listed him as being held at the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana. By Thursday, that entry had vanished, and federal prosecutors declined to comment on his current status.

Because Alsaidi was already in federal custody, he missed a scheduled state‑court appearance. That case has been pushed back to Oct. 5 at the Will County courthouse in Joliet.

The federal public defender assigned to Alsaidi asked not to be quoted. The next steps? A detention hearing, a possible pre‑trial release hearing, and, unless a plea deal is struck, a trial that could bring a decade behind bars for each alleged cocktail.