FBI Thwarts Afghan Man's Alleged Election Day Terror Plot

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Facts

  • The FBI on Monday arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan national living in Oklahoma City, Okla., for allegedly planning an Islamic State-inspired Election Day terrorist attack.[1][2]
  • Tawhedi, who entered the US in 2021 on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), is said to have prepared for the alleged plot by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets, and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to return to Afghanistan.[1][3]
  • The suspect allegedly consumed IS propaganda, contributed to an IS-affiliated charity, and communicated with a person involved in recruitment and indoctrination, as determined by a prior FBI investigation.[1][4]
  • Tawhedi and his alleged juvenile co-conspirator, described as his brother-in-law, who also entered the country on an SIV in 2018, were arrested after purchasing two AK-47 rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.[3][5]
  • The FBI's investigation claims it uncovered evidence of Tawhedi indoctrinating young children about martyrdom, including a photograph that appears to show him reading a text about martyrs' rewards in the afterlife to two young children.[1][6]
  • If convicted of all charges, including conspiring and attempting to provide material support to IS, Tawhedi faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).[6][7]

Sources: [1]Time, [2]WSJ, [3]FOX News, [4]New York Post, [5]USA Today, [6]Daily Caller and [7]The Guardian.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by United States Department of Justice. This arrest is part of the DOJ's long-held commitment to protecting the American people from terrorism. As long as men like Tawhedi are seeking to wreak havoc on US citizens and institutions, agencies like the FBI — as was showcased in this case — are prepared to monitor their actions and put them in handcuffs before any harm can be done.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. There wouldn't be threats like this if the Biden administration didn't allow dozens of suspected terrorists to walk across the southern border as so-called immigrants. It's remarkable that the Democrat-controlled federal government let all these men into the country and then tries to take credit for stopping the threats it caused in the first place.