The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed the first-ever case before the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), seeking to deport a 47-year-old Afghan woman accused of supporting her family's plans for an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day in 2024.
According to a Justice Department press release, Nazira Haji
Zada, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested earlier this week and is
scheduled to appear before ATRC Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen in Washington,
D.C., on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
The Justice Department filed its application for her removal
on July 15, 2026, alleging that Zada supported a plot involving her son, Abdullah
Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, to carry out a mass-casualty
attack in the United States on Election Day in 2024.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case
marks the first time the department has used the ATRC to seek the removal of an
individual accused of supporting an ISIS-related terrorism plot.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case represents a
significant step in using the court to remove foreign nationals accused of supporting
terrorism.
According to court records cited by the Justice Department,
Tawhedi and Abdullah Haji Zada were arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after purchasing
firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.
Abdullah, who was 17 when he was arrested, pleaded guilty as
an adult and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Under his plea agreement, he
agreed to be removed to Afghanistan after completing his sentence and waived
most rights to appeal his conviction or challenge his removal.
Tawhedi, 28, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2025, to two
terrorism-related offenses involving conspiring and attempting to provide
material support and resources to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist
organization, as well as firearms-related offenses in furtherance of a federal
terrorism crime. He is awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents, Tawhedi admitted that between
June and October 2024, he conspired with at least one other person to obtain two
AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines for a planned
mass-casualty attack on or around Nov. 5, 2024, on behalf of ISIS.
A criminal complaint also alleged that Tawhedi communicated
with an ISIS facilitator about obtaining firearms and ammunition for the
planned attack.
The Justice Department further alleged that the family sold
personal property in 2024 to raise funds for the planned attack, including
furniture, computers, a mobile phone and two vehicles. The department said
Nazira signed a contract to sell the family's house.
According to the complaint, the family also purchased
one-way airline tickets for Nazira to travel with the children to Kabul shortly
before the planned attack, although Abdullah and Tawhedi were not included in
the travel plans.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established by
Congress in 1996 to allow the U.S. government to seek the expedited removal of
foreign nationals determined to be terrorists.
Under federal law, the government must establish by a
preponderance of the evidence that an individual is a terrorist for the court
to order removal.
The court is composed of U.S. federal district judges who
are appointed to the ATRC by the chief justice of the United States.
The court also allows the government to use classified
information when publicly disclosing such material could pose a threat to
national security. The law provides for legal representation for individuals
facing removal when necessary and allows either party to appeal to the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The Justice Department said the case involves coordination
among several federal agencies, including its National Security Division, the
FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland
Security Investigations and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
