WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to consider if a Nigerian man is ineligible for asylum because he cooked meals at a camp for leaders of a group that the U.S. government considers to be a terrorist organization.
The high court, granting a request by President Donald Trump's administration, will hear arguments on whether Izuchukwu Ozurumba's cooking job for leaders of the Unknown Gunmen qualifies as providing “material support” for a terrorist group.
The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate Ozurumba's removal order. The Republican administration says the 4th Circuit decision conflicts with rulings by at least three other circuits and, if upheld, will hamper the government's ability to deport immigrants with terrorism ties in many other cases.
“Providing meals to a terrorist organization's members is no less a material form of support than providing gasoline for its vehicles,” they wrote.
Ozurumba testified that he didn’t know the true purpose of the camp until after he started working there. The Unknown Gunmen is believed to be a group of separatists operating in southern Nigeria. Ozurumba's lawyers say the group's leaders forced him to work without pay and repeatedly threatened him after he escaped from the camp.
His attorneys further argued that there is no circuit split for the Supreme Court to resolve. “No federal court has adopted the government's rule, under which any interaction with a terrorist organization, no matter how attenuated or inconsequential, qualifies as ‘material’ support,” they wrote.
Ozurumba fled the camp near his home in Lagos, Nigeria, and traveled to Venezuela before entering the U.S. illegally in July 2023 and surrendered to Border Patrol. Several months later, an immigration judge ordered Ozurumba to be deported to Nigeria.
A divided 4th Circuit panel decided that Ozurumba's work at the camp didn't constitute material support of terrorism. The majority opinion says it appears that he was “simply a captive laborer” whose work had nothing to do with terrorist activities.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
Officers with the Supreme Court Police stand watch as the hight court begins its new term with a case about whether oil and gas companies should help pay for damage caused by disasters linked to climate change, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The statue Contemplation of Justice at the Supreme Court is seen at day's end in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as the justices prepare to begin the new term next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Supreme Court is seen at day's end in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, as the justices prepare to begin the new term next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
MABLETON, Ga. (AP) — A 42-year-old man killed while riding a roller coaster at Six Flags over Georgia was thrown from his seat and struck other patrons before landing below the ride, police said Tuesday.
Visitors at the theme park near Atlanta described watching him fall out of the coaster to his death Monday, causing the theme park operator to temporarily close nine similar roller coasters nationwide.
Investigators say they spoke with park visitors and employees who saw what happened. No one has released information about how he ended up coming out of his seat.
The man who died was 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, according to Cobb County police. Officials have not released any other information about those who were injured when they were struck by the man.
Kariem worked as the information technology manager at a public charter school in Atlanta and before that was the school’s technology teacher, according to an online resume.
The park in Mableton, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, already was scheduled to be closed Tuesday. One of Goliath’s other trains could be seen on the ride’s first hill Tuesday, seemingly where it stopped after the man fall from another train.
Logan Conner said he was on Goliath with his fiancée when he saw the man come out of his seat.
“The man started levitating in the air sideways,” he told NBC. “We made direct eye contact with him.”
Britny Landry had been on the ride earlier Monday and was waiting in line to go again.
“We just look, and I just see somebody fly out,” she told WAGA-TV. She said she wasn't sure at first what she saw. “Maybe somebody had a bag or something.”
Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman, said the man's next of kin have been notified.
“I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one,” Cupid said. “We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories.”
Six Flags said in a statement that it has temporarily shut down nine similar roller coasters at six of its theme parks in the U.S. and Canada. Those parks were already scheduled for seasonal midweek closures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The affected rides include a second coaster named Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, the coasters Fury 325 and Thunder Striker at Carowinds in North Carolina and the rides Leviathan and Behemoth at Canada’s Wonderland in Ontario, Canada.
Six Flags Entertainment did not immediately respond Tuesday to emailed questions seeking more information on why those specific rides were shut down and what would be done before they reopen.
Georgia's Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, which oversees ride inspections, is “conducting an in‑depth and comprehensive review,” said Garrison Bennett, a spokesperson.
Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss company that manufactured the coaster and many others worldwide, said it is “actively investigating the incident and will not comment further until we have a better understanding of what happened.”
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident,” the company said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family and those affected.”
Goliath, which opened in 2006, reaches a top speed of 70 mph (113 kph) with a height of 200 feet (61 meters), according to the park’s website. The park in suburban Atlanta opened in 1967.
Riders “navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills,” during the more than 3-minute ride, the website says.
The death is at least the seventh at the Georgia park since 1989, including two people who were in restricted areas and struck by roller coasters and two who died in auto accidents, according to the Doan Law Firm, which tallies amusement park accidents and represents victims.
In 2006, a man died after likely having a heart attack on the Goliath coaster, the law firm said.
The latest death comes less than two weeks after Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California announced the retirement of its X2 roller coaster following lawsuits alleging riders suffered serious brain injuries. The park settled one wrongful-death lawsuit with the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.
Last year, a 32-year-old man died from blunt impact injuries after riding a high-speed roller coaster at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida. His death was ruled accidental.
This story has been corrected to show the TV station that interviewed Britny Landry was WAGA TV, not KTVU-TV. It has also been corrected to show the park is in Mableton, not Austell.
Brumback reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Pittsburgh; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen near Interstate-20 at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Attractions are seen at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A roller coaster is shown at Six Flags over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026 in Austell, Ga. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
A roller coaster is shown at Six Flags over Georgia on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026 in Austell, Ga. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien)
