The US Department of Justice has arrested a man who allegedly planned an attack on Election Day in the United States in the name of the Islamic State group, UNN reports citing the BBC.
Details
The suspect, Nasir Ahmad Tauhedi, 27, is an Afghan national living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, according to prosecutors.
"This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack on Election Day here in our homeland," FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday.
The FBI said he tried to accumulate firearms and took steps to liquidate his family's assets and move members abroad.
Tauhedi is accused of providing, attempting to provide and conspiring to provide support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization; as well as attempting to purchase firearms and ammunition for use in committing a serious crime or act of terrorism.
The FBI said that Tauhedi worked with an unnamed accomplice who is a minor relative and also an Afghan national. It accuses him of consuming Islamic State propaganda via the Internet, based on Google records obtained by law enforcement, and of donating to a charity used as a front for ISIS.
According to the BBC's news partner CBS, a statement from federal investigators claims that Tauhedi searched for security cameras in Washington, D.C., and webcams showing the White House and the Washington Monument. It also claims that he researched states with more lenient gun laws.
Tauhedi was looking for AK-47 assault rifles to use in an attack, authorities say. On October 7, he and an accomplice met with individuals who were actually working undercover for the FBI to buy the weapons and ammunition.
After the purchase, Tauhedi and his accomplice were arrested.
In an interview conducted after his arrest on Monday, the FBI said that Tauhedi allegedly confirmed that he was planning an Election Day attack that would target "large crowds" and that he planned to die in the act.
Tauhedi arrived in the United States in September 2021 on a special immigrant visa with his wife and young child. At the time of his arrest, he was living in Oklahoma City.