U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II has detailed federal charges against eight individuals involved in an alleged terror plot. The charges include providing material support to terrorists, planning an attack on a UFC event, and targeting federal officials, potentially including the president and vice president. Penalties range up to life imprisonment.
The Trump administration is taking action to deport Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman accused of aiding an Islamic State-inspired terror plot in the U.S. This marks the first use of a specialized federal court established three decades ago. Court documents revealed this on Wednesday.
Haji Zada, from Fort Worth, Texas, faces deportation through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court after her recent arrest. An initial hearing is set for Thursday in Washington, D.C., as the government seeks her deportation.
The allegations in this case show the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family aiding in a mass casualty attack plot on American voters on Election Day. The Department’s application to this court makes clear that terrorists have no place in the United States of America,stated Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
An FBI memo from July 15 indicates authorities found Haji Zada supports the Islamic State and influenced her children to pledge loyalty to the group. Haji Zada is said to have supported a family plot to execute an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S.
Court filings identified her as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men convicted in Oklahoma for a 2024 Election Day terror plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, received a 15-year sentence and agreed to deportation after serving his term.
Haji Zada’s son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, also convicted, had worked as a security guard for a U.S. military installation in Afghanistan. He pleaded guilty to conspiring and attempting to support the Islamic State. Prosecutors noted his plans involved ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating assets, and buying one-way tickets for his family to Afghanistan.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court, established in 1996, received its first petition this month with the Justice Department’s application to deport Haji Zada. The court processes government applications for deporting noncitizens deemed “alien terrorists” when supported by classified information.
Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court three decades ago to remove alien terrorists from the United States who never should have been here in the first place,
said Blanche.
The court consists of five federal judges from various districts, appointed by the Supreme Court’s chief justice. At present, all proceedings are held at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.