(The Center Square) – An Afghan man accused of threatening a terrorist attack against Americans after he was released into the country by the Biden administration was charged Tuesday in the Northern District of Texas.
Afghan national Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, 30, who was residing in Fort Worth, Texas, was charged with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce related to threats authorities allege he made on a Nov. 23 video call that was recorded and posted on TikTok, X and Facebook.
The video shows Alokozay angrily gesturing and speaking Dari, threatening to build a bomb, to commit a suicide attack and kill Americans and “infidels,” according to the criminal complaint.
He is interacting with at least two other men in the video, telling them of his plan to build a bomb in his vehicle using a yellow cooking oil container the Taliban use to build improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan, according to the complaint. He also expressed affection for the Taliban in the conversation, says he came to the United States to kill the men participating on the video call, claimed he wanted to commit a suicide attack against Americans and said he wasn’t afraid of being deported or being killed, according to the complaint.
His alleged plans were foiled one day before two National Guardsmen were shot in Washington, D.C. Another Afghan national is accused in the D.C. attack the day before Thanksgiving, The Center Square reported.
Both men were released into the country in 2021 through a Biden administration Operation Allies Welcome program. An initial more than 77,000 Afghan nationals were ushered into the U.S. who weren’t properly, vetted creating national security concerns, The Center Square reported.
Alokozay was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety investigators and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force members after public reports were made about the video threats.
“Thanks to public reports of a threatening online video, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force apprehended this individual before he could commit an act of violence. We continue to ask that if you see something, say something,” FBI Dallas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Joseph Rothrock said.
The FBI-Dallas Field Office is leading the investigation in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, Texas DPS and the Fort Worth Police Department.
“We have zero tolerance for violence and threats of violence to kill American citizens and others like those allegedly made by this individual,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas, whose office is prosecuting the case. “Those individuals who jeopardize the public safety and security of North Texas residents will be swiftly brought to justice.”
“Online threats made by those hiding behind a screen will not be dismissed or taken lightly,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard said. “We will use every resource available to make sure these perpetrators are found, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Alokozay is currently in custody. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
The plot was the second foiled within a year.
Last year, an Afghan national released into the country through the same program was arrested in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for conspiring to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, The Center Square reported.
In June, he pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related offenses and faces up to 35 years in prison.
