An Afghan living in Oklahoma who allegedly plotted to carry out an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State was working as a security agent for the CIA in Afghanistan, Fox News has learned.
Authorities believe Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was radicalized after arriving in the United States on September 9, 2021, weeks after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, a senior Biden administration official said.
He entered the United States in a special vehicle immigrant visa (SIV) and is on parole pending the adjudication of his immigration proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security said this week. These facts were disputed by the State Department.
Officials have since clarified that Tawhedi came to the United States via humanitarian parole and later applied for SIV status.
AFGHAN IN OKLAHOMA PREPARED U.S. ELECTION DAY TERROR ATTACK IN BEHALF OF ISIS, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi is accused of plotting a terrorist attack on election day. (Ministry of Justice)
Humanitarian parole is a process by which Tawhedi would have been detained in a third country to be screened and screened, then flown to the United States.
After moving to the United States in 2021, he applied for special immigration status, a pathway to a green card, and was approved. He had not finalized his status, so the State Department rejected a DHS assertion made this week that Tawhedi arrived with an SIV.
It remains unclear when the State Department approved him for SIV after DHS approved him for humanitarian parole in 2021. Tawhedi applied for SIV status immediately after arriving in the United States.
There were no red flags that would have prevented him from entering the United States, officials said.
DHS OIG FAILS AFGHAN VERIFICATION, WARNS THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY MAY HAVE ENTERED US
A photo of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi and his children from July. (Ministry of Justice)
“Afghan evacuees seeking entry to the United States were subject to multi-level screening and intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism vetting. If new information emerges after their arrival, appropriate action is being taken,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Investigators believe Tawhedi became radicalized after arriving in the United States, like several former terrorism suspects, including those involved in the Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2015 San Bernardino attack and the Halloween 2017 case in which a man used a truck to murder and injure eight people. several others on a bike path in Lower Manhattan in the name of ISIS.
Tawhedi was arrested Monday and is charged with conspiracy and attempt to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a firearm for use in committing a felony or federal crime of terrorism.
In his seized communications, Tawhedi reportedly indicated that his attack targeted large gatherings of people on election day, during which he and a minor were expected to be martyred. He was arrested after speaking with a confidential FBI informant, the Justice Department said.
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The unidentified juvenile suspect, Tawhedi’s brother-in-law, entered the United States in March 2018 under a stricter SIV program after being screened.
THURSDAY, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined to answer questions about Tawhedi due to ongoing concerns about the screening of people brought to the United States
