An Afghan national arrested over a planned “ISIS-inspired” attack on Election Day was working as a security guard for the CIA before coming to the United States on a special visa, NBC News reported Thursday.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested Monday on federal charges over an alleged plot to carry out the attack, after conspiring with the terrorist organization and obtaining firearms and ammunition.
Sources told NBC that Tawhedi, who lives in Oklahoma City, had worked as a security guard in his home country for the CIA, before entering the U.S. in September 2021 – shortly after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The unsealed criminal complaint showed the suspect was in the U.S. on a special immigrant visa and was currently on parole awaiting adjudication of his immigration status. His wife and one child were also living with him.
Newsweek reached out to the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment Thursday afternoon.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, seen in pictures obtained by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice as part of their investigation into his alleged terror attack plot. The Afghan national arrived in the U.S. in September 2021.
U.S. Department of Justice
According to the complaint, Tawhedi accessed online ISIS propaganda and donated to a charity linked to the group earlier this year, but it was not clear whether he was radicalized before or after entering the U.S. He went on to plot a violent attack on Nov. 5 to interfere with the election, and planned to die in the process.
The NBC report states that it is not entirely clear whether Tawhedi did arrive on a special immigrant visa or through humanitarian parole. The former is only granted to those who previously worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government, while the other program is open to the general population.
While both entry methods require screening by U.S. immigration officials, Tawhedi would have been subjected to less-rigorous vetting under humanitarian parole, officials told the outlet.
A report from the DHS Office of the Inspector General released a year after Tawhedi’s arrival in the U.S. showed that Biden administration officials lacked enough data to properly vet the thousands of new arrivals in the weeks after American forces abruptly withdrew from Afghanistan, raising security questions.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Americans needed to know that the suspect was “imported directly” by the Biden administration’s policies.
“It is clear they failed to properly vet all refugees, which poses a significant threat to national security. Tawhedi is one of many thousands sent to America after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Gentner posted.
“While it is indisputable that many Afghan refugees are law-abiding and deserve our gratitude for helping U.S. forces as we fought the Taliban, we face the unsettling prospect that Tawhedi is not the only terrorist brought here by own own government.”
Humanitarian Parole has been used to allow migrants from countries with ongoing conflicts or environmental disasters to live in the U.S. with protections from deportation, pending further immigration proceedings.
Picture mashup of Donald Trump (left) and Kamala Harris (right), with the center image showing U.S. military personnel boarding a plane during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Since Harris became the Democratic nominee, Trump and GOP allies have criticized her involvement in the U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
Getty Images
The program is one of those targeted by Republicans during the election campaign, who argue that they have allowed dangerous criminals into the country, although officials have argued that new arrivals go through extensive vetting ahead of arriving at the border.
Tawhedi is charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism. They carry maximum sentences of 20 and 15 years respectively.
