FBI arrests Afghan man who allegedly planned Election Day attack in US
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.
After his arrest on Monday, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (27) of Oklahoma City told investigators that he had planned the attack to coincide with Election Day next month, adding that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.
Tawhedi, who arrived in the US in September 2021, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family's assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan, officials said.
The arrest comes as the FBI confronts heightened concerns over the possibility of extremist violence on the US soil, with Director Christopher Wray saying he was “hard pressed to think of a time in my career where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once”.
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 was involved in 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.
Tawhedi told investigators that he had planned an attack for Election Day that would target large gatherings of people.
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 programme that 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 programme has existed since 2009, the number of applicants skyrocketed after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Shawn VanDiver, the president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organisations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said though the charges are serious, “it's critical that we do not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual. Thousands of Afghans who resettled in the United States are working to build new lives and contribute to our shared future”.
