Afghan man accused of plotting terrorist attack on Election Day pleads guilty

An Afghan man accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day has pleaded guilty.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, has pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related charges: “conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a federal crime of terrorism,” after being arrested in October 2024. According to investigators, Tawhedi and Abdullah Haji Zada, his alleged co-conspirator, planned to carry out the attack and die as martyrs. To this end, he had reportedly purchased “two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 magazines,” according to a Department of Justice press release.

The event was scheduled to take place on November 5, Election Day, “on behalf of ISIS.”

“According to a criminal complaint affidavit filed in the case, Tawhedi communicated with an ISIS facilitator about his plan to purchase firearms for use in the terror plot, including asking the individual whether 500 rounds of ammunition would be sufficient,” the press release reads.

“By pledging allegiance to ISIS and plotting an attack against innocent Americans on Election Day, this defendant endangered lives and gravely betrayed the nation that gave him refuge,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Today’s guilty plea guarantees he will be held accountable, stripped of his immigration status, and permanently removed from the United States, and shows the Justice Department has zero tolerance for those who exploit our freedoms to spread violence.”

FBI Director Kash Patel issued a warning to anyone thinking of planning a similar attack on American soil.

“The defendant admits he planned and obtained 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. Let this serve as notice to anyone who tries to conduct attacks in our homeland for ISIS or any other terror group: we will find you and you’ll face American justice. I want to commend the FBI teams and our partners for their hard work and success in executing the mission.”

“Through incredible law enforcement effort and coordination, a violent terrorist attack on American soil was thwarted, and those responsible are being held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “I commend the outstanding work by the FBI, our law enforcement partners, and prosecutors to diligently discover, thoroughly investigate, and completely foil this terror plot. These guilty pleas serve as an emphatic reminder that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue those who attempt to harm Americans through terrorist acts.”

Tawhedi is looking at a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, while co-conspirator Zada is facing 15.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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