(NewsNation) — The Afghan branch of the Islamic State, ISIS-K, orchestrated an Afghan man’s foiled Election Day terror plot, a U.S. official confirmed to NewsNation.
Afghan native Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested in early October and accused of planning to target large groups of people on Nov. 5. He told investigators he and a co-conspirator — whose identity has not been released — planned to die as martyrs.
“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement last week. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people.”
Tawhedi, who is scheduled to be in court later this week, has not entered a plea and remains in FBI custody.
Tawhedi first arrived in the United States in September 2021. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, the Oklahoma City resident bought AK-47 rifles, liquidated his family’s assets and purchased one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan, charging documents revealed.
Those same documents show that Tawhedi, who officials say consumed Islamic State propaganda, was in contact with an ISIS affiliate named “Malik.”
This is the first indication that ISIS-K, which U.S. officials have warned has intended to carry out a terror attack in the U.S., was allegedly involved in the plot.
The source did not provide more specific details on the alleged efforts by ISIS-K.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told NewsNation local affiliate KFOR that his office has been closely following the FBI’s investigation into the plot.
“The details will come out of this case in the days ahead; they did a remarkable job identifying someone who was absolutely planning to kill as many people as possible and die a martyr’s death on behalf of ISIS, had recruited a juvenile to join him,” Lankford said. “It’s also a reminder to us that there are still people in the world that mean to do us harm, that hate our freedom.”
“He was picking Election Day with an ISIS affiliation for a reason. That’s a deliberate statement about ‘I hate Americans’ freedom,’” he added.
A family member of Tawhedi was arrested and charged by French law enforcement this past weekend for allegedly planning a similar terror scheme.
NewsNation reached out to federal officials about these reports, first reported by NBC News, but the FBI and the Justice Department refused to comment on ISIS-K’s involvement in the plot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.