The FBI has arrested an Afghan man, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, for allegedly planning an Election Day attack that targeted large crowds in the U.S., according to reports by the Associated Press. Tawhedi, inspired by ISIS, had been stockpiling automatic weapons and preparing for the attack with a juvenile co-conspirator, with both reportedly intending to die as martyrs.

Tawhedi, who entered the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in 2021, confessed to the FBI after his arrest that he was planning a violent attack in support of the Islamic State group. He had also arranged for his wife and child to return to Afghanistan, having bought them a one-way ticket.

The FBI’s investigation uncovered Tawhedi’s communication with an ISIS recruiter and found that he had been consuming ISIS propaganda online. As part of their operation, agents posed as gun sellers, facilitating the sale of AK-47 rifles and ammunition to Tawhedi and his accomplice, which led to their arrests.

According to the criminal complaint, “as part of the investigation into Tawhedi, the FBI searched Tawhedi’s phone and obtained communications between Tawhedi and a person who facilitated recruitment, training, and indoctrination of persons who expressed interest in terrorist activity and who Tawhedi understood to be affiliated with ISIS. Tawhedi was also seen in a video recorded on July 20 reading to two children text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife. Tawhedi also allegedly accessed, viewed, and saved ISIS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, participated in pro-ISIS Telegram groups, and contributed to a charity which fronts for and funnels money to ISIS.”

“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people. I am deeply grateful to the public servants of the FBI, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma for their work to disrupt this attack and for the work they do every day to protect our country.”

Charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, Tawhedi faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is also charged with receiving a firearm to commit terrorism, carrying an additional 15-year sentence.