The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officers say was impressed by the Islamic State militant group and was plotting an Election Day assault focusing on massive crowds within the U.S., the Justice Division mentioned Tuesday.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma Metropolis instructed investigators after his arrest Monday that he had deliberate his assault to coincide with Election Day subsequent month and that he and a co-conspirator anticipated to die as martyrs, in keeping with charging paperwork.
Tawhedi, who arrived within the U.S. in September 2021, had taken steps in latest weeks to advance his assault plans, together with by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his household’s property and shopping for one-way tickets for his spouse and little one to journey dwelling to Afghanistan, officers mentioned.
The arrest comes because the FBI confronts heightened considerations over the potential of extremist violence on U.S. soil, with Director Christopher Wray telling The Related Press in August that he was “arduous pressed to consider a time in my profession the place so many various sorts of threats are all elevated directly.”
“Terrorism continues to be the FBI’s primary precedence, and we’ll use each useful resource to guard the American folks,” Wray mentioned in a press release Tuesday.
An FBI affidavit doesn’t reveal exactly how Tawhedi got here onto investigators’ radar, however cites what it says is proof from latest months displaying his willpower in planning an assault. {A photograph} from July included within the affidavit depicts a person investigators recognized as Tawhedi studying to 2 younger youngsters, together with his daughter, “a textual content that describes the rewards a martyr receives within the afterlife.”
Officers say Tawhedi additionally consumed Islamic State propaganda, contributed to a charity that features as a entrance for the militant group and communicated with an individual who the FBI decided from a previous investigation was concerned in recruitment and indoctrination of individuals concerned about extremism. He additionally seen webcams for the White Home and the Washington Monument in July.
Tawhedi’s alleged co-conspirator was not recognized by the Justice Division, which described him solely as a juvenile, a fellow Afghan nationwide and the brother of Tawhedi’s spouse.
After the 2 marketed the sale of non-public property on Fb, the FBI enlisted an informant final month to answer the provide and strike up a relationship. The informant later invited them to a gun vary, the place they ordered weapons from an undercover FBI official who was posing as a enterprise accomplice of the informant, in keeping with courtroom papers.
Tawhedi was arrested Monday after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition he had ordered, officers mentioned. The unidentified co-conspirator was additionally arrested however the Justice Division didn’t present particulars as a result of he’s a juvenile.
After he was arrested, the Justice Division mentioned, Tawhedi instructed investigators he had deliberate an assault for Election Day that will goal massive gatherings of individuals.
Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and trying to supply materials assist to the Islamic State, which is designated by the U.S. as a overseas terrorist group. The cost is punishable by as much as 20 years in jail.
He appeared in courtroom Tuesday and was ordered detained. An e-mail to an legal professional listed as representing him didn’t instantly return an e-mail searching for remark.
It was not instantly clear if he had a lawyer who may converse on his behalf.
A for-sale signal stood within the yard exterior a modest, two-story brick dwelling listed as being related to Tawhedi’s household within the Oklahoma Metropolis suburb of Moore.
A lady who recognized herself as Tawhedi’s spouse declined to debate the case.
“We don’t wish to discuss within the media,” mentioned the girl, who didn’t give her identify.
Tawhedi entered the U.S. on a particular immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on parole standing pending the conclusion of his immigration proceedings, the Justice Division mentioned. This system permits eligible Afghans who helped Individuals, regardless of nice private threat to themselves and their family members, to use for entry into America with their households.
Eligible Afghans embrace interpreters for the U.S. army in addition to people integral to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Whereas this system has existed since 2009, the variety of candidates skyrocketed after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Shawn VanDiver, the president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations devoted to serving to Afghans making an attempt to go away Afghanistan, mentioned that although the fees are severe, “it’s vital that we don’t assign blame to a whole group for the actions of 1 particular person. Hundreds of Afghans who resettled in the USA are working to construct new lives and contribute to our shared future.”
“These are the identical people who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan for over twenty years, defending the values we maintain expensive,” he mentioned in a press release. “Now, they’re our neighbors, and we should assist them as they search security and stability of their new dwelling.”