Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national living in Oklahoma, was arrested and charged with conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day in the U.S., according to court documents released this week. Prosecutors allege that Tawhedi was attempting to support the Islamic State (ISIS) by planning a violent attack aimed at large gatherings on November 5, 2024. He was arrested alongside a juvenile co-conspirator, also an Afghan citizen with legal permanent resident status. The pair had met with undercover FBI agents to purchase firearms and ammunition for the planned attack.
Tawhedi allegedly had been consuming ISIS propaganda online and had been searching for information related to U.S. gun laws and security measures in Washington, D.C. In the months leading up to his arrest, he reportedly tried to liquidate family assets and relocate family members to Afghanistan.
The case has heightened concerns about potential political violence as the U.S. election approaches.
Nasir Ahmed Tawhedi, an Afghan refugee arrested in Oklahoma for allegedly planning a terror attack on Election Day. It reveals inconsistencies between immigration records and the Justice Department’s account of how Tawhedi entered the U.S. Immigration documents show he was admitted under humanitarian parole in 2021, contradicting the DOJ’s claim that he entered with a Special Immigration Visa (SIV), which is typically for Afghans who worked with U.S. agencies.
Tawhedi’s background triggered alarm after a CBP review flagged him during the Operation Allies Welcome program. This scrutiny, followed by an FBI “silent hit” on Tawhedi, came weeks before his arrest. Law enforcement officials suggest that either CBP identified a terror nexus or the FBI’s investigation was already underway. Concerns have been raised in Congress, especially by Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has criticized the Biden administration’s vetting failures during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Further concerns stem from reports that Tawhedi, despite being flagged, entered the U.S. and potentially became radicalized. He was allegedly planning an attack with a 17-year-old accomplice and had purchased weapons for the plot. The FBI found pro-ISIS propaganda in his possession, and he had sent his family back to Afghanistan in preparation for the attack.
This case underscores broader concerns about national security and the proper vetting of Afghan refugees resettled in the U.S. following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
