The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organisation and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the US, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, told investigators after his arrest on Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and a juvenile co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.
Tawhedi, who entered the US in 2021 on a special immigrant visa, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family's assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.
"Terrorism is still the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
After he was arrested, the Justice Department said, Tawhedi told investigators he had planned an attack for Election Day that would target large gatherings of people. Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group, which is designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation.
What led to the arrest of Tawhedi?
An FBI affidavit does not reveal precisely how Tawhedi came onto investigators’ radar, but cites what it says is evidence from recent months showing his determination to plan an attack. A photograph from July included in the affidavit depicts a man investigators identified as Tawhedi reading to two young children, including his daughter, “a text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife.”
Officials say Tawhedi also consumed Islamic State propaganda, contributed to a charity that functions as a front for the militant group and communicated with a person who the FBI determined from a prior investigation was involved in the recruitment and indoctrination of people interested in extremism. He also viewed webcams for the White House and the Washington Monument in July.
Tawhedi’s alleged co-conspirator was not identified by the Justice Department, which described him only as a juvenile, a fellow Afghan national and the brother of Tawhedi’s wife.
After the two advertised the sale of personal property on Facebook, the FBI enlisted an informant last month to respond to the offer and strike up a relationship. The informant later invited them to a gun range, where they ordered weapons from an undercover FBI official who was posing as a business partner of the informant, according to court papers. Tawhedi was arrested Monday after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition he had ordered, officials said. The unidentified co-conspirator was also arrested but the Justice Department did not provide details because he is a juvenile.
Afghan national may face 20 years in prison
After he was arrested, the Justice Department said, Tawhedi told investigators he had planned an attack for Election Day that would target large gatherings of people. Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, which is designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
A for-sale sign stood in the yard outside a modest, two-story brick home listed as being connected to Tawhedi’s family in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. A woman who identified herself as Tawhedi’s wife declined to discuss the case. “We don’t want to talk in the media,” said the woman, who did not give her name.
How did Tawhedi enter US?
Tawhedi entered the US on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on parole status pending the conclusion of his immigration proceedings, the Justice Department said. The program permits eligible Afghans who helped Americans despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones to apply for entry into America with their families.
Eligible Afghans include interpreters for the US military as well as individuals integral to the American embassy in Kabul. While the program has existed since 2009, the number of applicants skyrocketed after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
(With inputs from agency)
