DOJ charges Afghan native in Election Day terror attack plot

(This story has been updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

An Afghan citizen living in Oklahoma City was charged Tuesday with conspiring to carry out an Election Day terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of ISIS.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arraigned in federal court in Oklahoma City.

He and his brother-in-law were arrested Monday after purchasing two AK-47 rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI agent in a rural area of Oklahoma, the FBI reported in a court affidavit.

Tawhedi admitted after his arrest that he and his brother-in-law bought the weapons to carry out an attack on Election Day that “targeted large gatherings of people,” the affidavit said. He said he and his brother-in-law expected to die and become martyrs in the Nov. 5 attack.

According to the affidavit, on July 25, he used his Google account to access webcams at the White House and the Washington Monument.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department foiled the conspiracy.

“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 those who seek to terrorize the American people,” he said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray also said the conspiracy was uncovered and stopped before anyone was harmed.

“Terrorism is still the FBI’s top priority, and we will use all resources to protect the American people,” he said.

According to the affidavit, Tawhedi came to the United States on September 9, 2021 and was here on a special immigrant visa. The timing coincides with a period in which thousands of Afghans who fled their country as the Taliban came to power were resettled in cities in the United States. About 1,000 Afghans were resettled in Oklahoma City.

US Senator James Lankford described him as an Afghan refugee in a press release. Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City, which has helped resettle Afghan refugees, has no record of him, said its executive director Patrick Raglow.

Tawhedi lived in an apartment on Shartel Avenue with his wife and 1-year-old child, the FBI said. Online records show an address for him in 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri.

His court-appointed attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

His wife’s brother was described as a co-conspirator but was not named in the affidavit because the FBI reported he was a minor. He was identified as an Afghan national who lives with his parents in a single-family home in Moore. According to the affidavit, he entered the United States on March 27, 2018, on a special immigrant visa.

The FBI reported the two were preparing to repatriate most of their immediate family to Afghanistan. According to the affidavit, they had purchased one-way tickets for Tawhedi’s wife and child, as well as the boy’s mother and siblings, to travel from Dallas to Kabul on October 17. They had also found new homes for the family pets.

According to the affidavit, the Moore home was listed for sale in July for $230,000. It was re-listed in September for $190,000 and is now under contract with a closing date of October 15th.

The Justice Department did not disclose how the alleged conspiracy was uncovered. The FBI said in the affidavit that its agents have been investigating since at least August.

More: Why Homeland Security told the OK County Election Board to increase security at its offices

According to the affidavit, in September the FBI used a long-time source to get the two to test firearms in a rural location. At the direction of the FBI, the source initially met with them to purchase personal property that was listed for sale on Facebook.

The source had said he was buying a PC and a Chromebook “for my new gun business I’m starting.”

At a recorded meeting on Sept. 14 in a rural location, the undercover FBI agent and another source posed as business associates of the first source, according to the affidavit. Tawhedi then agreed to purchase the two assault rifles for $1,000 each. He also said he fired guns “frequently” in Afghanistan.

The FBI reported that evidence against Tawhedi included messages he sent to an intermediary of people interested in jihad. He admitted after his arrest that he knew the man was affiliated with ISIS, the FBI said.

In a Sept. 22 message, according to the affidavit, he wrote: “Brother, our house sold today. We will receive the money by October 15th next month. After that we will begin our duty, God willing. With God’s help we will prepare for election day.”

In a Sept. 25 message, he wrote that his father-in-law’s house had sold for $185,000, “but my father-in-law doesn’t know about it,” the affidavit said.

The FBI reported that Google records show Tawhedi accessed, viewed and stored ISIS propaganda. Evidence found on Google included an image of an armed militant in front of fire, smoke, rubble and the U.S. Capitol “with an ISIS flag flying above,” according to the affidavit.

In March, he completed at least $540 worth of cryptocurrency transactions to a charity that supports and funnels money to ISIS, the FBI said.

On Tuesday evening, Governor Kevin Stitt said: “I want to express my deepest gratitude to our investigators and law enforcement officers for successfully uncovering and stopping this terrorist attack before innocent lives were put at risk.” Information sharing we have implemented between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies is making a real difference.

“Those who harm our nation, threaten our freedoms and disrupt our way of life will be held accountable and face the full force of the law.”

Read the criminal complaint and affidavit against Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi

Staff writer Carla Hinton contributed to this report.

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