Southwest
Afghan man charged with Election Day terror plot screened multiple times, worked CIA security job
An Afghan man living in Oklahoma who allegedly plotted to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of the Islamic State worked a security job for the CIA in Afghanistan, Fox News has learned.
Authorities believe Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, became radicalized after he arrived in the U.S. Sept. 9, 2021, weeks after the American troops pulled out of Afghanistan, a senior Biden administration official said.
He entered the U.S. on a special immigrant visa (SIV) and is on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security said this week. Those facts were disputed by the State Department.
Officials have since clarified that Tawhedi came to the U.S. via humanitarian parole and later applied for SIV status.
AFGHAN MAN IN OKLAHOMA PLOTTED ELECTION DAY TERROR ATTACK IN US ON BEHALF OF ISIS, JUSTICE DEPT SAYS
Humanitarian parole is a process by which Tawhedi would have been held in a third country for screening and vetting and then flown to the U.S.
After moving to the U.S. in 2021, he applied for special immigrant status, a pathway for a green card, and was approved. He hadn’t finalized his status, which is why the State Department denied a DHS claim made this week that Tawhedi arrived with an SIV.
It was still unclear when the State Department approved him for an SIV after DHS approved him for humanitarian parole in 2021. Tawhedi applied for SIV status immediately after arriving in the U.S.
There were no red flags that would have barred him from entry into the U.S., officials said.
DHS OIG FAULTS AFGHAN VETTING, WARNS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS MAY HAVE ENTERED US
“Afghan evacuees who sought to enter the United States were subject to multilayered screening and vetting against intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism information. If new information emerges after arrival, appropriate action is taken,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Investigators believe Tawhedi was radicalized after arriving in the U.S., similar to several past terrorism suspects, including those involved in the Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2015 San Bernardino attack and the Halloween 2017 case in which a man used a truck to murder eight people and injure several others on a bike path in Lower Manhattan on behalf of ISIS.
Tawhedi was arrested Monday and is charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a gun to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism.
In his seized communications, Tawhedi allegedly indicated that his attack was planned to target large gatherings of people on Election Day, during which he and a juvenile were expected to die as martyrs. He was busted after speaking with an FBI confidential informant, the Justice Department said.
The unidentified juvenile suspect, Tawhedi’s brother-in-law, entered the U.S. in March 2018 under a stricter SIV program after he was vetted.
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to answer questions about Tawhedi amid ongoing concerns about the vetting of those brought to the U.S.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Police investigate fatal shooting in San Pedro
Officials are investigating a fatal shooting in San Pedro, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police said a report of shots fired near 7th Street and Grand Avenue came into the station around 4:38 p.m. on Sunday.
Footage from the scene shows a large law enforcement response and a white canopy set up in the area – which is generally used to cover a victim while police scour the area for evidence.
Additionally, authorities cordoned off the area as detectives worked to gather information and redirect traffic around the intersection.
So far, police have not released a suspect description and it’s unclear if any arrests have been made.
No information as to the victim’s identity or a motive for why they may have been fatally shot was provided.
Southwest
Houston chemical plant leak kills 2, injures at least 35
A chemical leak involving hydrogen sulfide at the PEMEX oil refinery in Deer Park Texas, left two people dead and at least 35 more injured on Thursday night.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a group of workers were conducting work on a flange when an unknown accident occurred and gas started leaking.
The Deer Park Office of Emergency Management says they were notified of the incident at approximately 5:23 p.m.
BIOLAB PLANT FIRE: GEORGIA RESIDENTS EVACUATE AS TOXIC SMOKE BILLOWS FROM CHEMICAL-FUELED INFERNO
Gonzalez estimated it would take seven or eight hours for the investigators to be able to get to where the incident happened.
Following the leak, PEMEX said it was doing work that could cause flaring.
PEMEX said it shut the 92,000-bpd coker and a hydrotreater at the refinery after the release began, according to a company statement.
OHIO ‘DANGEROUS’ CHEMICAL SPILL CAUSED BY OPEN VALVE ON TRAIN CAR LEADS TO EMERGENCY EVACUATION
Deer Park lifted the Shelter-in-Place according to a statement by the Deer Park Office of Emergency Management.
Harris County Pollution Control, Harris County Hazmat, and CTEH are reporting no hazardous chemicals within the community.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Firefighters battling 200-acre Jack Fire in Riverside County
Firefighters in Riverside County are battling a 200-acre wildfire just south of Beaumont, officials announced Sunday.
The Jack Fire was first reported at around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection Jack Rabbit Trail and Highway 60, according to a post to X, formerly Twitter, by the Riverside County Fire Department.
Officials said at that time the multiple air and ground resources had been assigned to the rapidly moving vegetation fire, which was burning in the hills.
In an update just before 8 p.m., officials said that wildfire had spread to another 50 acres and was 0% contained.
“Firefighters will remain on scene throughout the night, working to contain the fire,” the Riverside County Fire Department said.
So far, there has been no suggestion that any structures are threatened or that any type of evacuation warnings or orders may be forthcoming.
Some 200 personnel have been assigned to fight the fire, along with one helicopter, 26 engines, four bulldozers and seven hand crews, according to Cal Fire.
No injuries have been reported and the cause of the wildfire is under investigation.
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