Federal judge orders Afghan man accused of plotting Election Day attack to remain in custody

A federal judge on Thursday ordered an Afghanistan national who has been accused of plotting an Election Day terrorist attack to remain in custody, after authorities testified he previously worked as a security guard at a American military installation in the Middle East.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested by the FBI earlier this month, and charged with multiple crimes including conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State (ISIS). Tawhedi was let into the country immediately after President Joe Biden withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

FBI agent Derek Wiley testified on Thursday that Tawhedi and his brother-in-law, who is a minor, attempted to purchase semiautomatic firearms and ammunition in order to carry out the attack. Wiley also alleged that Tawhedi is tied to another investigation in France about a planned terrorist attack in that country, according to Politico. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Mitchell in Oklahoma City ordered that Tawhedi stay in U.S. custody, and said there was enough evidence for a trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Dillon confirmed to Mitchell that Tawhedi was allowed into the U.S. under a special parole status, but that the parole status has since been revoked. 

“Were he to be released today, he would be unlawfully in the United States,” Dillon said.

Tawhedi's defense attorney argued that he should be detained at home, and claimed the only weapon Tawhedi ever handled in the U.S. was provided by a government informant. He also said that in Tawhedi's three years of residency in the country, he had never even received a traffic citation. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.