Afghan evacuee arrested on charge of plotting Election Day attack in U.S.

An Afghan man who came to the U.S. as part of President Biden’s chaotic 2021 troop withdrawal now stands accused of an ISIS-fueled plot to launch a suicide attack on Election Day next month.

Authorities said Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, planned to use two AK-47 rifles to shoot up what he described as large gatherings of people. He told agents he expected to be martyred in the attack.

The FBI said Mr. Tawhedi planned to carry out the attack with his nephew, a juvenile who is not named in the court documents.

Agents ran an undercover operation offering to sell Mr. Tawhedi the rifles, and established his fealty to the Islamic State, or ISIS, through information gleaned from his phone and online activities.

A Justice Department press release said Mr. Tawhedi was also seen in a video recorded on July 20 reading to two children text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife. One of the children was his own daughter. Authorities said Mr. Tawhedi said his martyrdom would earn him 72 virgins and a crown of jewels in heaven.

“This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The Washington Times has sought comment from the lawyer listed for Mr. Tawhedi.

The FBI said he was trying to sell his residence in Oklahoma and use the money to fund his plot, as well as have funds to send his extended family back to Afghanistan.

Authorities said Mr. Tawhedi came to the U.S. on Sept. 9, 2021, which is just after Mr. Biden finished the chaotic troop withdrawal that saw the Taliban retake control of the country.

The FBI said Mr. Tawhedi is here on “parole,” which is the power Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has used to bring in tens of thousands of Afghans and millions more unauthorized migrants from across the globe.

The FBI said Mr. Tawhedi is in “immigration proceedings,” which likely means he is seeking a visa to make his status more permanent. The bureau mentioned the Special Immigrant Visa, which is a special program for Afghans and Iraqis who assisted the U.S. war efforts in those countries.

If so, that would indicate that Mr. Tawhedi had worked with the U.S. while he was in Afghanistan.

It’s not clear from the court documents when he might have started following ISIS, but authorities found a host of materials on his phone showing fealty to the Islamist terror group.

His nephew, the juvenile identified as a co-conspirator, entered the U.S. in 2018 on a special immigrant visa, likely derived from a parent, and is now a legal permanent resident, the FBI said. The juvenile lives in Oklahoma City with his father, mother and five siblings, and another sister is Mr. Tawhedi’s wife.

Mr. Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and with receiving a firearm to commit a felony or terrorism. He is being prosecuted in the Western District of Oklahoma.

The case quickly reverberated through the 2024 campaign.

“Kamala Harris rolled out the red carpet for terrorists like Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi,” said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign.

Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, called the case “a stark reminder that our nation continues to face threats from those who hate our freedom and want to do us harm.”

“Tawhedi is Afghan refugee with ties to ISIS. With the escalating conflict in Israel and across the Middle East, we must remain vigilant against terrorism here at home,” Mr. Lankford said.