/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/26/2024-12-26t112006978z-wion-white-logo-for-website-2-1.png){kind=logo}
/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/13/2024-12-13t071548098z-wionlogo.webp)
/wion/media/post_attachments/files/2024/10/11/459608-download-6-1.png)
Washington DC
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan man who was arrested for plotting an Islamic State-inspired terror attack targeting US presidential election, had once worked with CIA, multiple American media outlets reported.
According to the reports, it is not clear if the 27-year old was radicalised before or after he came to the US after the American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as Taliban took over the reins at the end of a bloody war of over 20 years.
US Elections: Afghan Man Arrested For Plotting US Election Day Attack
Tawhedi reportedly worked as a security guard for the Central Intelligence Agency, and arrived in the US in September 2021.
He was arrested on Monday (Oct 7) from Oklahoma City for the terror plot inspired by the Islamic State group.
The US Election Day terror attack plot
According to US court documents, Tawhedi and other suspects including his juvenile brother-in-law planned a shooting attack on large gatherings during Election Day, November 5, when Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will fight for the White House.
The conspirators sold their home and belongings and bought firearms to carry out the attack, including two AK-47 rifles which they got just before their arrest, said the documents unsealed on Tuesday (Oct 8).
Also read: OpenAI says cybercriminals using ChatGPT to influence US elections
Tawhedi reportedly searched online for access to surveillance and security cameras in the US capital Washington DC. In July, he checked webcams that show the White House and the Washington Monument. He also looked for states in the US where gun laws were relaxed.
He told the investigators the plotters expected to achieve martyrdom, said the court documents.
Tawhedi, who is currently in custody, had accessed ISIS propaganda and send money to a charity run by the terror group.
Also read: Donald Trump says his youngest daughter Tiffany is pregnant
He entered the US under the so-called humanitarian parole route and later applied for a Special Immigrant Visa, which is given to those who worked with US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Tawhedi is expected to appear for a hearing on October 17.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Afghan nationals who entered the US were screened and vetted by intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals.
"With every new information that emerges that if that individual could pose a threat to public safety, we take immediate action," she added, without answering specific questions about the terror plot.
(With inputs from agencies)