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Foiled Election Day terrorist plot took months of planning, lawmaker says [Video]

A 27-year-old Afghanistan citizen living in Oklahoma City faces charges after he allegedly conspired to conduct a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS in the U.S. on Election Day.The Department of Justice says Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi wanted to target large groups of Americans on Election Day. The FBI added that Tawhedi’s underage co-conspirator is his wife’s younger brother. Sen. James Lankford told sister station KOCO that he spoke with the FBI throughout the investigation and monthslong effort to stop the Election Day terror plot. A big part of the case was a digital trail, as court documents have pictures of Tawhedi’s social media accounts and chilling text conversations. “We’re a year and a day past when terrorists crossed over a border, killed 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages,” Lankford told KOCO on Tuesday. The U.S. senator was in Oklahoma City to attend a memorial event for local Jews in remembrance of Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. Lankford provided details of the arrest of Tawhedi, along with his juvenile co-conspirator. “An individual here in OKC that has been connecting with ISIS overseas, planning and preparing, providing resources and funding to carry out a terrorist attack here in the United States,” Lankford said. Charging documents from the DOJ highlight digital messaging conversations Tawhedi had with a man who used the alias “Abdul Malik” on the messaging app Telegram. In part of the conversation, Tawhedi said, “Brother, our house was sold today. We’ll receive the money by the 15th of October next month. After that, we’ll begin our duty, God willing, with the help of God, we will get ready for the election day.” “He had looked at several locations. I’ll let the FBI bring out all the details and prosecution as it goes through, but he had planned to carry out an act of terrorism,” Lankford said. “He had already bought the weapons and ammunition for it. He had already started the training process to carry it out.” The court documents also detail how federal agents agreed to meet with Tawhedi and his juvenile co-conspirator at a rural location to buy AK-47 rifles and ammunition. “The FBI and OKC Field Office, their quick, speedy and excellent work in this has been the difference in being able to save a lot of lives with it. We owe a lot of gratitude to them,” Lankford said. The senator, however, encouraged Oklahomans to remember that this does not reflect on the Afghan community in the state. “There are a lot of brave Afghans that fought against acts of terrorism in their country that are living as refugees in ours. So, this one Afghan is not a depiction of all Afghans that are in our state,” Lankford said. Authorities estimated Tawhedi has been in the U.S. since 2021.

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Small Business Funding

Senator Baldwin accepts the Friend of Farm Bureau award at a family farm in Fall Creek [Video]

FALL CREEK, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) Senator Tammy Baldwin paying a visit to a family farm in Fall Creek this afternoon. The visit comes as the Senator is being presented with the Friend of Farm Bureau award by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Baldwin says its important to her to connect with Wisconsin farmers, to hear []

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Small Business Funding

Foiled Election Day terrorist plot took months of planning, lawmaker says [Video]

A 27-year-old Afghanistan citizen living in Oklahoma City faces charges after he allegedly conspired to conduct a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS in the U.S. on Election Day.The Department of Justice says Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi wanted to target large groups of Americans on Election Day. The FBI added that Tawhedi’s underage co-conspirator is his wife’s younger brother. Sen. James Lankford told sister station KOCO that he spoke with the FBI throughout the investigation and monthslong effort to stop the Election Day terror plot. A big part of the case was a digital trail, as court documents have pictures of Tawhedi’s social media accounts and chilling text conversations. “We’re a year and a day past when terrorists crossed over a border, killed 1,200 people and took hundreds of hostages,” Lankford told KOCO on Tuesday. The U.S. senator was in Oklahoma City to attend a memorial event for local Jews in remembrance of Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. Lankford provided details of the arrest of Tawhedi, along with his juvenile co-conspirator. “An individual here in OKC that has been connecting with ISIS overseas, planning and preparing, providing resources and funding to carry out a terrorist attack here in the United States,” Lankford said. Charging documents from the DOJ highlight digital messaging conversations Tawhedi had with a man who used the alias “Abdul Malik” on the messaging app Telegram. In part of the conversation, Tawhedi said, “Brother, our house was sold today. We’ll receive the money by the 15th of October next month. After that, we’ll begin our duty, God willing, with the help of God, we will get ready for the election day.” “He had looked at several locations. I’ll let the FBI bring out all the details and prosecution as it goes through, but he had planned to carry out an act of terrorism,” Lankford said. “He had already bought the weapons and ammunition for it. He had already started the training process to carry it out.” The court documents also detail how federal agents agreed to meet with Tawhedi and his juvenile co-conspirator at a rural location to buy AK-47 rifles and ammunition. “The FBI and OKC Field Office, their quick, speedy and excellent work in this has been the difference in being able to save a lot of lives with it. We owe a lot of gratitude to them,” Lankford said. The senator, however, encouraged Oklahomans to remember that this does not reflect on the Afghan community in the state. “There are a lot of brave Afghans that fought against acts of terrorism in their country that are living as refugees in ours. So, this one Afghan is not a depiction of all Afghans that are in our state,” Lankford said. Authorities estimated Tawhedi has been in the U.S. since 2021.