The Afghan national accused of an Election Day terrorism plot now faces three felony charges that carry a total maximum penalty of 55 years in prison.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested on October 7.
A grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday in Oklahoma City federal court, charging him with the three offenses.
The first indictment accuses him of conspiring to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization. The second indictment accuses him of attempting to provide that support. In the third indictment, he is accused of receiving and conspiring to obtain firearms and ammunition with a view to committing terrorism.
He had originally faced two felony charges. His court-appointed attorney questioned the validity of these counts during a preliminary hearing on Oct. 17 but has not spoken to the media.
Grand jurors specifically alleged that since June, Tawhedi conspired with others to provide services, money and personnel to ISIS, including himself. They also alleged that on October 7, he received two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition to commit terrorism.
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He and his brother-in-law were arrested after purchasing the guns and ammunition at a meeting at a rural location in Oklahoma, the FBI said in an Oct. 8 court affidavit.
Tawhedi admitted after his arrest that he and his brother-in-law bought the weapons to carry out an attack “targeting large groups of people” on Election Day, the affidavit said. He said he and his brother-in-law expected to die and become martyrs in the Nov. 5 attack.
Tawhedi lived with his wife and 1-year-old daughter in an apartment in south Oklahoma City and worked as an auto mechanic. He arrived in the United States in 2021 and moved to Oklahoma last December.
The brother-in-law has not been identified by the FBI because he is a minor. The boy lived with his parents and siblings in a house in Moore. Any prosecution of him in federal court would be conducted under strict confidentiality unless he is ultimately charged as an adult.
Tawhedi is married to the boy’s sister.
The indictment did not identify the alleged target. The FBI has said that on July 25, Tawhedi used his Google account to access webcams for the White House and the Washington Monument.
The indictment did show that Tawhedi is also known by the surname Azizi.
The alleged plot heightened tensions over the election and an incident occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
Police said Austin Olson, 27, of Westland, Michigan, was arrested after a flare gun and torch were found in his jacket during the screening process to enter the Capitol Visitor Center. Police also reported finding gasoline in a liquor bottle and a drinking cup in his backpack.
Olson was charged Wednesday in federal court in Washington, DC, with unlawful activity.
Olson “stated that he was here to send a message to Congress and that the torch and flare gun in his possession would ‘set the message ablaze,'” a U.S. Capitol Special Agent reported Police in a court affidavit.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Afghan now faces three felony charges over alleged terrorism plot
