The U.S. Attorney, Dominick S. Gerace II, announced federal charges against eight individuals involved in an alleged terror plot. The plot includes providing material support to terrorists, planning an attack on a UFC event, and targeting government officials, potentially including the president and vice president. Those convicted could face penalties up to life imprisonment.
The Trump administration is attempting to use a specialized federal court to deport Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan woman accused of aiding an Islamic State-inspired plot in the United States. Court records made public reveal this is the first use of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court since its creation three decades ago.
Nazira Haji Zada, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested and is the first person to face deportation through this court. An initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Washington, D.C. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche commented, “The allegations in this case show the matriarch of an ISIS-sympathizing family aiding in a plot to launch a mass casualty attack on American voters on Election Day.” Blanche emphasized that terrorists have no place in the United States.
According to an FBI memo dated July 15, authorities developed information that Haji Zada supports the Islamic State. Her children were reported to have pledged loyalty to the group. The memo also states Haji Zada supported a plot by family members to execute an ISIS-inspired attack in the U.S.
Court documents identify Haji Zada as the mother and mother-in-law of two Afghan men. These men were convicted in Oklahoma in relation to a 2024 Election Day terror plot. Her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, received a 15-year prison sentence in November and agreed to deportation upon release. Haji Zada’s son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, attempting to execute plans by buying weapons, liquidating family assets, and purchasing one-way tickets to Afghanistan for his wife and child.
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996, but this is its first petition. The Justice Department seeks to use this court to deport noncitizens deemed “alien terrorists” under federal law, especially when classified information supports removal.
Blanche remarked, “Congress created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court to remove from the United States alien terrorists who never should have been here in the first place.” This court consists of five federal judges from different districts, appointed by the Supreme Court’s chief justice. The court’s proceedings will occur at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington.
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