An Afghan man was arrested and charged for allegedly plotting to “conduct” an ISIS-related “Election Day terrorist attack,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ announced in a press release on Tuesday, that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, who had been residing in Oklahoma, had “conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIS and obtained firearms and ammunition to conduct a violent attack” in the United States.
Tawhedi was charged with “conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS” and with “receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism,” according to the press release.
If convicted, Tawhedi faces “a maximum prison sentence of 20 years” for the first charge and a “maximum prison sentence of 15 years” for the second charge.
“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people.”
The press release noted that Tawhedi had allegedly taken “steps to liquidate his family’s assets” and to “resettle” his family overseas, as well as obtained firearms such as “AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition.”
In the criminal complaint, it was revealed that Tawhedi had “entered the United States on September 9, 2021, on a special immigrant visa and is currently on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings.”
The press release from the DOJ announcing charges against Tawhedi for plotting an ISIS-related terrorist attack to occur on Election Day comes after outlets such as CNN have argued against claims from former President Donald Trump, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) that Afghanistan refugees fleeing their country in the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover were not being “properly vetted.”
In a post on X, Donald Trump Jr., the oldest son of the former president, responded to the news that Tawhedi had been arrested for planning to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day, noting that Vice President Kamala Harris had “let thousands of UNVETTED migrants from Afghanistan” into the United States.
“After the embarrassing pull out of Afghanistan in 2021, Kamala Harris let thousands of UNVETTED migrants from Afghanistan into America,” Trump Jr. wrote. “How many more terrorists plotting to kill Americans are in our country today because of her disastrous decisions?”
“This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “I am proud of the men and women of the FBI who uncovered and stopped the plot before anyone was harmed. Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people.”
