Afghan national arrested in OKC for Election Day terrorist plot: Everything we know so far
An Afghan national living in Oklahoma City was charged Tuesday with conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was charged in Oklahoma City federal court after an FBI investigation led to the arrest of him and his brother-in-law, who is a minor and has not been named by the FBI. Investigators said the two were plotting the terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.
Here's what we know about Tawhedi and the investigation so far.
Who is Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi? What we know about Afghan charged with plotting terrorism in OKC
Tawhedi came to the United States on Sept. 9, 2021, using a special immigrant visa, the FBI said in a court affidavit. During that same period, about 1,000 Afghans were relocated to Oklahoma City and thousands more across other cities in the U.S. when the Taliban took over their country.
It's unclear if Tawhedi is an Afghan refugee — though he was described that way by U.S. Sen. James Lankford in a news release — or if his entrance into the country simply coincided with the refugees.
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Catholic Charities of Oklahoma City, which helped resettle Afghan refugees, has no record of him, its executive director, Patrick Raglow, said.
Tawhedi was living in an apartment on Shartel Avenue along with his wife and 1-year-old child, the FBI said. Online records show an address for him in 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tawhedi's brother-in-law was attending Southmoore High School as a virtual student. He arrived in the U.S. in 2018 on a special immigrant visa, and lives with his parents in Moore.
What we know about Oklahoma terrorism plan
According to the FBI, Tawhedi and his brother-in-law were arrested Monday after purchasing two AK-47 rifles and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee in a rural location in Oklahoma.
After the arrest, Tawhedi admitted he and his brother-in-law bought the guns to commit an attack on Election Day "targeting large gatherings of people," according to the affidavit. He said he and his brother-in-law, who expected to die in the Nov. 5 attack and be martyrs.
On July 25, he used his Google account to access webcams for the White House and Washington Monument, according to the affidavit.
In a Sept. 22 message, according to the affidavit, he wrote, "Brother, our house was sold today. We'll receive the money by the 15th of October, next month. After that we will begin our duty, God willing, with the help of God, we will get ready for the election day."
How was the plan for an Election Day terrorist attack discovered?
The Justice Department did not disclose how the alleged plot was uncovered. The FBI indicated in the affidavit its agents have been investigating since at least August.
(This story was updated to add new information.)