update deskU.S. News

Afghan man faces 35 years in prison for allegedly planning terror attack on Election Day

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi planned to carry out the attack in the name of ISIS, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

A terrorist carries the Islamic State's flag overlooking Dabiq in Syria in 2013. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
A terrorist carries the Islamic State's flag overlooking Dabiq in Syria in 2013. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Justice Department has charged Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan citizen who lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Tuesday with planning a terror attack on Nov. 5—Election Day—in the name of ISIS.

Tawhedi faces up to 35 years in prison for the terrorism charge and for acquiring two AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines and 500 rounds of ammunition to carry out the attack, per the department. He was arrested along with a juvenile the department called a co-conspirator.

“In his seized communications, Tawhedi allegedly indicated that his attack was planned for Election Day, and in a post-arrest interview, Tawhedi allegedly confirmed the attack was planned for Election Day targeting large gatherings of people, during which he and the juvenile were expected to die as martyrs,” according to the department.

Per the complaint, Tawhedi was photographed reading to two children, including his daughter, and “stated that martyrs will be exempted from the sufferings of the grave, placed in heaven, get married to 72 virgins and receive a crown full of jewels.”

Investigators found pro-ISIS documents on Tawhedi’s iCloud and Google accounts and photos in which he raised his index finger in a gesture symbolizing support for the U.S.-designated terror group.

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