Afghan national was planning ISIS-inspired attack on Election Day, federal prosecutors say

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Federal prosecutors have accused a 27-year-old Afghan citizen of conspiring with ISIS and stockpiling weapons to launch an Election Day attack in the US.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was allegedly planning to liquidate his family’s assets and sell his family’s home, resettle family members overseas, and buy up AK-47 rifles and ammunition “to stage a violent attack in the United States in the name of and on behalf of ISIS,” according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.

According to a criminal complaint, Tawhedi and a co-conspirator, who is a minor, met with an FBI informant in Oklahoma to buy two AK-47s, 10 magazines and 500 rounds of ammunition.

They were then arrested on October 7.

In communications reviewed by FBI agents and attached in the criminal complaint, Tawhedi allegedly said he planned for an Election Day attack, then told agents after his arrest that the attack was designed to target large gatherings of people, during which he and his co-conspirator were expected to die as martyrs.

Before his arrest, Tawhedi — who entered the US on a special immigrant visa in 2021— had viewed ISIS propaganda and sent money to an organization that “fronts for and funnels money to ISIS,” according to prosecutors.

He also performed Google searches for “how to access washington dc cameras” and state-level gun restrictions, including which states have open-carry laws, according to the affidavit.

Tawhedi also bought one-way airfare for his wife and child to Kabul, according to prosecutors.

He was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.

It was not immediately clear whether he had retained a defense attorney.

“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on US soil on Election Day,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“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 terrorize the American people,” he added.

Garland and federal law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned against the possibility of election threats from foreign and domestic actors while vowing to protect election workers and the people who help run the nation’s elections from abuse and violent harassment.

Foreign adversaries are hoping to undermine Americans’ confidence in the legitimacy of election results and amplifying US-born disinformation and false claims about fraud and the election process, according to intelligence officials.

US intelligence agencies expect foreign actors “to continue their campaigns by calling into question the validity of the election’s results after the polls close,” an official told reporters on Monday.

They are likely to exploit close and contested races across the US to exacerbate divisions among Americans and undermine election integrity, officials said.

Last month, federal law enforcement agencies seized 32 Russian-backed websites that prosecutors say were designed to sow disinformation and discord ahead of 2024 elections and boost Donald Trump’s campaign.

Separately, two employees of Russia’s state-controlled media network RT were criminally charged with allegedly launching a $10 million propaganda scheme that enlisted popular right-wing social media influencers.