Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, the 27-year-old Afghan national who was arrested in Oklahoma on Monday and charged with plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day, had previously worked as a security guard for the CIA in Afghanistan.
He is accused of planning to use an assault rifle to kill Americans on behalf of ISIS. Court documents reveal that he had donated to an ISIS charity in March and consumed ISIS propaganda online, though it remains unclear whether he was radicalized before or after his 2021 arrival in the U.S.
Tawhedi came to the U.S. in September 2021, about a month after the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. While a U.S. official emphasized that all Afghan evacuees undergo rigorous screening, members of Congress have expressed concerns that not all were properly vetted during the massive evacuation effort. A report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general also highlighted gaps in the data used to screen the refugees.
Despite entering the U.S. on a Special Immigrant Visa, two U.S. officials told NBC News that Tawhedi was actually admitted under humanitarian parole, which typically involves less scrutiny. Authorities believe Tawhedi planned the Election Day attack alongside a juvenile co-conspirator, also an Afghan national. The pair were arrested after meeting undercover FBI agents to purchase AK-47 rifles and ammunition for the planned attack, which was set to target large gatherings. Tawhedi reportedly expected to die as a martyr during the attack.
The case has sparked political controversy, with Donald Trump Jr. and Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General accusing the Biden-Harris administration of importing a terrorist through their refugee resettlement program. The CIA has declined to comment on Tawhedi’s involvement with the agency.
