A guy who allegedly planned an attack on Election Day under the name of the Islamic State organization has been taken into custody by the US Department of Justice.
Prosecutors claim that the suspect, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, is an Afghan national who lives in Oklahoma City.
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated in a statement on Tuesday that "this defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland."
According to the FBI, he was trying to accumulate guns and had already started to sell off family property and send family members abroad.
Mr. Tawhedi is accused of conspiring to, and actually supplying, resources or support to a foreign terrorist organization;and with attempting to obtain weapons and ammunition in order to carry out crimes or acts of terrorism.
According to the FBI, Mr. Tawhedi collaborated with an unidentified juvenile relative who is also an Afghan national. Based on Google documents that law enforcement was able to collect, it accuses him of consuming IS propaganda online and of making donations to a nonprofit that serves as a front for the group.
Attorney General Merrick Garland declared, "We will keep up the fight against the persistent threat that ISIS and its allies pose to America's national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people."
An affidavit from federal investigators claims that Mr. Tawhedi looked for surveillance, according to the BBC news partner CBS. cameras throughout Washington, as well as webcams that display the Washington Monument and White House. It further claims that he looked into states with more permissive gun legislation.
Authorities said Mr. Tawhedi requested to utilize assault guns, namely AK-47s, for the attack. In order to buy the weapons and ammo, he and the other conspirator met on October 7 with people who were actually FBI undercover agents.
Following the transaction, Mr. Tawhedi and his accomplice were taken into custody.
According to the FBI, Mr. Tawhedi admitted planning an Election Day attack that would target "large gatherings of people" and that he intended to die while carrying it out in an interview conducted following his arrest on Monday.
Together with his spouse, Mr. Tawhedi entered the US in September 2021 using a special immigrant visa with a small toddler. At the time of his arrest, he was a resident of Oklahoma City.
It's unclear right away if he has legal counsel.
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