By EFE
08 Oct 2024, 11:48 PM EDT
The US Justice announced this Tuesday the arrest of an Afghan citizen residing in Oklahoma City for conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack in the United States on election day on behalf of the Islamic State.
According to the indictment, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, conspired and attempted to provide material support to that jihadist organization and obtained firearms and ammunition to carry out an attack on American soil.
As part of that plan, the defendant allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, relocate its members abroad, acquire two assault rifles and AK-47 ammunition, and commit the attack.
“We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to the national security of the United States, and we will identify, investigate and prosecute those who seek to terrorize the American people,” US Attorney General Merrick said in the Justice Department statement. Garland.
The country will hold its presidential elections on November 5, in which vice president and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021) will face each other.
FBI Director Christopher Wray added in the note that the accused planned the violent attack for that day motivated by the United States.
The FBI searched his phone and obtained communications between Tawhedi and an individual who facilitated the recruitment, training and indoctrination of individuals who expressed interest in terrorist activities and who the defendant believed were affiliated with the Islamic State.
In a video from July 20, he is seen reading a text to two children that describes the rewards that a martyr receives in the afterlife.
According to the prosecution, Tawhedi confirmed in an interrogation after his arrest his intention to attack large crowds on election day and said that both he and his co-conspirator, who has also been arrested, expected to die as martyrs.
Tawhedi is charged with conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, which could carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and also with receiving a firearm to commit a felony or a federal terrorism offense, which could carry up to 15 years in prison.
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