On Friday, an Afghan man in Oklahoma entered a guilty plea to terrorism-related charges in federal court after being charged with organizing an election-day assault in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State organization.
What charges did Tawhedi plead guilty to in court?
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi entered a guilty plea to two charges: seeking to obtain guns in order to commit a federal crime of terrorism and collaborating with and supporting the Islamic State organization.
Tawhedi may spend up to 35 years behind bars. In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said,
“The defendant acknowledges he planned and procured firearms to carry out a violent terror attack on Election Day in 2024, a plot that was detected and disrupted through the good work of the FBI and our partners.”
According to court filings, Tawhedi purchased two AK-47-style weapons and 500 rounds of ammunition when he was residing in Oklahoma City last year in order to target mass gatherings. According to the authorities, he spent many months planning the assault with a number of others, including his brother-in-law, Abdullah Haji Zada. In April, Zada, then 17 years old, entered a guilty plea to adult charges. He might spend up to 15 years behind bars.
How did Tawhedi enter the United States in 2021?
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi arrived in the United States just days after the US troop’s pullback from Afghanistan ended. Tawhedi initially entered the U.S. under humanitarian parole, which is a process that involves screening and vetting in a third country, and he was then permitted to enter.
Tawhedi later applied for and obtained Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status, a type of status that grants a pathway to lawful permanent residency for individuals who worked alongside American forces overseas.
However, at the time of his arrest on October 7, 2024, he was still on parole, waiting for the final adjudication of his immigration status. His parole status has since been revoked after his arrest for terrorism-related charges. There is some dispute about whether he arrived initially on an approved SIV or humanitarian parole. Still, there is no dispute that he was in the process of adjusting his status after he arrived.
How did the FBI arrest Tawhedi?
FBI agents testified that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who was also employed as a rideshare driver and an employee at auto shops, was surveilled for over a month prior to his arrest on October 7, 2024. The surveillance was part of the investigation that revealed Tawhedi had plotted a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS on U.S. Election Day 2024. The surveillance was lengthy and allowed law enforcement to collect evidence of Tawhedi’s attempts to obtain firearms and coordinate with co-conspirators, leading to Tawhedi’s arrest and guilty plea.
