An Afghan national let into the United States by the Biden administration immediately after the bungled withdrawal of American troops from his country was charged Tuesday in federal court with plotting an Election Day terror attack in support of the Islamic State (ISIS).
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested by the FBI on Monday and charged with multiple crimes including conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to the Justice Department announcement.
The charges are certain to renew alarm in Congress and inside security circles about the refugee program the administration put together during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and which has since been flagged for inadequate vetting for potential terrorist ties,
Tawhedi has been legally in the United States since Sept. 9, 2021, after he was granted special parole permission to enter the country during Operation Allies Refuge following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a senior US official speaking on condition of anonymity told Just The News.
The Justice Department made no mention of Tawhedi's special parole status in its announcement though its federal charging documents made a passing reference.
"He entered the United States on Sept. 9, 2021 on a special immigrant visa and is currently on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings," the filing noted.
The charging documents allege that Tawhedi attempted to purchase semiautomatic firearms and ammunition in order to carry out the attack, and even had plans to resettle his family overseas ahead of the planned Nov. 5 attack. At least one co-conspirator was also referenced, but was not identified because they were a minor.
It is not clear where the attack would have taken place, but Tawhedi allegedly Googled "How to access washington dc cameras" and "Which US state does not require relations to get a firearm?" and visited the White House and Washington Monument webcams in July.
Tawhedi allegedly admitted the plot in a post-arrest interview with investigators, and stated that they planned to target "large gatherings of people," and that both him and the undisclosed minor "expected to be martyred" and die during their attack, according to ABC News.
The Homeland Security Inspector General's office and members of Congress have raised grave concerns about the way the Biden administration vetted Afghan refugees who were let into the country after the withdrawal.
The inspector general report said over 79,000 Afghan refugees entered the United States from July 21 through January of 2022. The report also claimed Customs and Border Protection paroled evacuees into the United States who were "not fully vetted," including dozens with known "derogatory information."
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green also raised concerns about the number of ISIS-tied immigrants that have come into the country.
“It’s only a matter of time before one of these individuals connected to a terrorist group is involved in something devastating on U.S. soil, and this administration will be responsible," Green said in a news release in June. "How much longer will we let this madness continue?”
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