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The F.B.I. has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was planning an Election Day attack inspired by the Islamic State, targeting large gatherings across the United States, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.
The suspect, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, reportedly told investigators after his arrest on Monday that he had planned the attack to take place on Election Day next month. According to charging documents, Tawhedi and an unnamed co-conspirator had anticipated dying as martyrs during the attack.
Since arriving in the United States in September 2021, Mr. Tawhedi had allegedly taken several steps to further his plans, including ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating family assets, and purchasing one-way tickets to Afghanistan for his wife and child, officials said.
The arrest comes amid heightened concerns about extremist violence on American soil. In August, F.B.I. Director Christopher A. Wray told The Associated Press that “multiple types of threats are elevated simultaneously,” underscoring the agency’s ongoing vigilance. “Terrorism remains the F.B.I.’s top priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people,” Mr. Wray said in a statement on Tuesday.
An F.B.I. affidavit did not specify how Mr. Tawhedi first came to the bureau’s attention, but it outlined months of surveillance and cited evidence illustrating his dedication to carrying out an attack. One photograph, dated July, reportedly shows Mr. Tawhedi reading to two children, including his daughter, from a text that describes the rewards of martyrdom in the afterlife.
The affidavit also indicates that Mr. Tawhedi consumed Islamic State propaganda, contributed to a charity identified as a front for the group, and communicated with an individual previously investigated by the F.B.I. for recruiting extremists. In July, officials say, he accessed live webcams of landmarks in Washington, D.C., including the White House and the Washington Monument.
The co-conspirator, whom the Justice Department described as a juvenile Afghan national and the brother of Mr. Tawhedi’s wife, was not named. The pair allegedly posted their belongings for sale on Facebook, which led the F.B.I. to send an informant to make contact. The informant subsequently invited Mr. Tawhedi and his co-conspirator to a shooting range, where they ordered weapons from an undercover F.B.I. agent posing as a business associate of the informant.
Mr. Tawhedi was taken into custody on Monday after receiving two AK-47 rifles and ammunition. The juvenile was also arrested, though details were not disclosed due to his age.
According to officials, Mr. Tawhedi confessed to planning an Election Day attack aimed at locations with large gatherings. He has been charged with conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He appeared in federal court on Tuesday and was ordered to remain in custody. An attorney listed as representing Mr. Tawhedi did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it was unclear if he had retained other counsel.
A modest two-story brick home in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, associated with Mr. Tawhedi’s family, displayed a for-sale sign in the yard on Tuesday. A woman identifying herself as Mr. Tawhedi’s wife declined to comment, saying, “We don’t want to talk in the media.”
Mr. Tawhedi entered the United States on a special immigrant visa, designed to assist Afghans who risked their lives to aid American interests, such as interpreters for the U.S. military.
The visa program, in existence since 2009, saw a surge in applicants following the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Mr. Tawhedi has been on parole pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings, according to the Justice Department.
