FBI arrets Afghan national for plotting US election day attack

The FBI arrested an Afghan national in Oklahoma for allegedly plotting an attack on the US election day, according to the Department of Justice.

According to a criminal complaint filed, Afghan national Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIS terrorist group and obtained firearms and ammunition to conduct a violent attack on US soil in the name of ISIS, the Department of Justice said in a statement, News.Az reports.

As part of the plot, the defendant allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, resettle members of his family overseas, acquire AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, and commit a terrorist attack in the US, said the statement.

US authorities did not provide details about the co-conspirator, who is reportedly also Afghan and is A. T.'s brother-in-law, as he is a minor and therefore under special privacy protections.

In an interview following his arrest, A. T. allegedly said the attack was intended to target large gatherings of people, and that he and his co-conspirator were supposed to die as martyrs.

A. T. entered the US in 2021 as part of the Special Immigrant Visa Program, available to people who worked with the US army or under chief of mission authority as translators or interpreters in Iraq or Afghanistan.

News.Az