FBI arrests Afghan man who authorities say planned US Election Day attack

WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who authorities say was inspired by the militant organization Islamic State and was planning an Election Day attack on large crowds in the United States, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, told investigators after his arrest Monday that he planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according with the charging documents.

Tawhedi, who arrived in the U.S. in September 2021, has taken steps in recent weeks to move forward with his attack plans, including ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and purchasing one-way tickets for his wife and son to travel to home. Afghanistan, officials said.

The arrest comes as the FBI faces growing concerns about the possibility of extremist violence on American soil, with director Christopher Wray telling the Associated Press in August that it was “difficult to think of a time in my career when so many different types of threats are all elevated at once.”

“Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority and we will use every resource to protect the American people,” Wray said in a statement Tuesday.

An FBI affidavit does not reveal precisely how Tawhedi appeared on investigators’ radar, but it cites what it says is evidence from recent months that shows his determination to plan an attack. A July photograph included in the affidavit shows a man identified by investigators as Tawhedi reading to two children, including his daughter, “a text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife.”

Authorities say Tawhedi also consumed Islamic State propaganda, contributed to a charity that serves as a front for the militant group and communicated with a person the FBI determined from an earlier investigation was involved in recruiting and indoctrination of people interested in extremism. He also viewed webcams of 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 young man, an Afghan citizen and the brother of Tawhedi’s wife.

After the two announced the sale of personal assets on Facebook, the FBI recruited an informant last month to respond to the offer and begin a relationship. The informant later invited them to a shooting range, where they ordered weapons from an undercover FBI officer posing as the informant’s business partner, according to court documents.

Tawhedi was arrested on Monday after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition he had ordered, authorities said. The unidentified co-conspirator was also arrested, but the Justice Department did not provide details because he is a minor.

After his arrest, the Justice Department said, Tawhedi told investigators that he had planned an Election Day attack that would target large gatherings of people.

Tawhedi was accused of conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, which is designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

He appeared in court on Tuesday and was detained. An email sent to an attorney listed as representing him did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

A for sale sign was in the yard in front of a modest two-story brick home listed as 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 to the media,” said the woman, who did not reveal her name.

Tawhedi entered the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and is on probation pending the completion of his immigration process, the Justice Department said. The program allows eligible Afghans who have helped Americans despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones to apply to enter America with their families.

Eligible Afghans include interpreters from the U.S. military as well as individuals from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Although the program has existed since 2009, the number of applicants soared following the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said that while the allegations are serious, “it is critical that we not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual. Thousands of Afghans resettled in the United States are working to build new lives and contribute to our shared future.”

“These are the same individuals who have stood side by side with us in Afghanistan for more than two decades, defending the values ​​we hold dear,” he said in a statement. “Now, they are our neighbors and we must support them as they seek safety and stability in their new home.”

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Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

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