An Afghan man, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, and his underage accomplice were arrested in Oklahoma for allegedly planning an election day “terrorist attack,” the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
Tawhedi is a resident of Oklahoma City since entering the US from Afghanistan on a special immigrant visa.
They were both arrested on Monday after attempting to purchase two AK-47 rifles and ammunition from undercover FBI agents.
According to the indictment, Tawhedi searched online for ways to access cameras in Washington, DC, and researched states where firearms could be obtained without a license. He also viewed live feeds from the White House and Washington Monument webcams.
Tawhedi said that the attack was in the name of Islamic state. They also planned an attack on large public gatherings, during which both he and his accomplice intended to die as martyrs.
“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 terrorise the American people,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
In a “homeland threat assessment” released last week, the Department of Homeland Security warned that the US threat level is expected to remain elevated in the coming year, citing factors such as the 2024 election cycle and Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Lone offenders and small groups continue to pose the greatest threat. Meanwhile, foreign terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State and al Qaeda maintain their enduring intent to conduct or inspire attacks in the Homeland,” the department said in an assessment released on Oct. 2.
The Islamic State militant group, driven by its radical interpretation of religion, killed and executed thousands of people before being territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.
