Afghan National and Accomplice Planned Mass-Casualty Attack on Election Day, Thwarted by FBI.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan national, pleaded guilty in federal court in Oklahoma City on Friday to terrorism-related charges for conspiring to carry out a mass-casualty attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) targeting Election Day 2024. The charges include conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and attempting to receive firearms and ammunition to further a federal crime of terrorism.
Tawhedi admitted to plotting with at least one other individual between June and October 2024 to purchase two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 magazines, intending to execute a violent attack on Nov. 5, 2024. Court documents reveal Tawhedi communicated with an ISIS facilitator, discussing the purchase of firearms and inquiring whether 500 rounds of ammunition would suffice for the attack.
“By pledging allegiance to ISIS and plotting an attack against innocent Americans on Election Day, this defendant endangered lives and gravely betrayed the nation that gave him refuge,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s guilty plea guarantees he will be held accountable, stripped of his immigration status, and permanently removed from the United States.”
Tawhedi and his co-conspirator, 18-year-old Abdullah Haji Zada, were arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after purchasing the firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee. Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to a firearms offense related to the plot and awaits sentencing as an adult.
FBI Director Kash Patel praised the operation, stating, “The defendant admits he planned and obtained firearms to carry out a violent terror attack on Election Day in 2024, a plot that was detected and disrupted through the good work of the FBI and our partners. Let this serve as notice to anyone who tries to conduct attacks in our homeland for ISIS or any other terror group: we will find you and you’ll face American justice.”
The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, comprising multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local police departments, led the investigation. “Through incredible law enforcement effort and coordination, a violent terrorist attack on American soil was thwarted,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Tawhedi faces up to 20 years in prison for the material support charge and 15 years for the firearms charge. Zada faces up to 15 years. Both will be permanently removed from the United States and barred from reentry under judicial orders following any prison terms. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica L. Perry, Matt Dillon, and Everett McMillian, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Jennifer Levy and Mark Stoneman.
“Thanks to outstanding work by the Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force, the defendant’s plan to kill innocent Americans in a terrorist attack on Election Day was stopped,” said Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “Together, we will continue to safeguard our communities from those who conspire against the United States.”