FBI arrests Afghan man accused of planning Election Day attack in the US

FBI arrests Afghan man accused of planning Election Day attack in the US

The FBI arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma City on the event date after officials said he had been plotting an Islamic State-inspired attack that would target large crowds on Election Day next month, according to the supplied AP report.

The man, identified as Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. The Justice Department said he had told investigators after his arrest that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs and had planned to strike on Election Day. He was ordered detained after appearing in court.

The AP report says Tawhedi had arrived in the United States in September 2021 and had taken a series of steps that investigators say pointed to a real attack plan. Those steps included ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to return to Afghanistan. Officials also said he had looked at webcams for the White House and Washington Monument and consumed ISIS propaganda.

The investigation used an informant and an undercover FBI official to move the case forward. After Tawhedi and a juvenile co-conspirator advertised property for sale on Facebook, an informant contacted them, invited them to a gun range and arranged the weapons buy. Tawhedi was arrested after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition.

The case underscores the FBI’s continuing focus on domestic terrorism and extremist plotting. Director Christopher Wray said terrorism remains the bureau’s top priority, and the AP report quotes him saying the FBI will use every resource to protect the public.

The report also places the case inside the wider special immigrant visa program for Afghans who aided Americans and were later evacuated after the 2021 withdrawal. A resettlement advocate told AP not to blame an entire community for one person’s alleged actions, stressing that thousands of Afghans are working to build new lives in the United States.

For now, the case is still an allegation, but the filing describes a detailed and disturbing chain of planning. The arrest came less than a month before the election Tawhedi allegedly wanted to target, turning the investigation into one of the more serious domestic security stories of the campaign season.

Citation map

• Arrest, charges, alleged plan and planning steps: AP source 801.
• Informant operation, visa status and FBI statement: AP source 801.