Washington (AFP) – An Afghan man pleaded guilty on Friday to plotting to carry out an attack on US election day on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) group, the Justice Department said. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested in the central US state of Oklahoma in October, several weeks before the November 5 presidential election. He pleaded guilty in a federal court in Oklahoma City to charges of conspiring to provide material support to IS and attempting to receive firearms and ammunition to carry out an attack. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 15 years in prison for the firearms charge.
“By pledging allegiance to IS and plotting an attack against innocent Americans on Election Day, this defendant endangered lives and gravely betrayed the nation that gave him refuge,” US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Today’s guilty plea guarantees he will be held accountable, stripped of his immigration status, and permanently removed from the United States.”
Tawhedi and a co-conspirator, Abdullah Haji Zada, sought to buy two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition to carry out a “mass-casualty attack” on November 5, according to court documents. The seller turned out to be an undercover FBI employee. Zada, 18, pleaded guilty in April to the firearms charge and is awaiting sentencing.
According to the criminal complaint, Tawhedi entered the United States in September 2021 on a special immigrant visa.
© 2024 AFP
