The Justice Department has launched their first-ever Alien Terrorist Removal Court after the discovery of an ISIS-inspired plan to slaughter American voters.
The Justice Department has confirmed the launch of its first-ever case in the US Alien Terrorist Removal Court, seeking to deport an Afghan woman accused of helping her family prepare an ISIS-inspired mass shooting targeting Americans on Election Day 2024.
Facing deportation is Nazira Haji Zada, 47, the matriarch of an Afghan family living in Fort Worth, Texas, after helping to support the terror plot orchestrated by her son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who have already pleaded guilty or been convicted in connection with the attack plan.
According to court documents, the family sold off their home, cars, furniture and other belongings to finance the planned massacre, before Nazira signed the contract to sell the family's property and purchased one-way airline tickets to Afghanistan for herself and the family's children. The two men planned to remain behind and carry out the ISIS-inspired attack on American voters.
The plot was foiled in October 2024 after Tawhedi and Abdullah purchased two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines from an undercover FBI employee. Tawhedi admitted he intended to carry out a mass-casualty attack on or around Election Day on behalf of ISIS.
Announcing the unprecedented legal action, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Congress created the court specifically to remove terrorists who "never should have been here in the first place." He added, "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."
FBI Director Kash Patel called the case a historic milestone. "No one should be allowed to come into our country and then betray it," Patel said. "The FBI and our Justice Department partners will not hesitate to use all available resources to protect the American people." Nazira Haji Zada was arrested this week and is scheduled to appear Thursday before Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in Washington DC.
Her son, Abdullah, who was 17 when arrested, later pleaded guilty as an adult and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Under his plea agreement, he will be deported to Afghanistan after serving his sentence and waived any future attempt to seek asylum or challenge his removal. Tawhedi pleaded guilty in 2025 to providing material support to ISIS and terrorism-related firearms offenses and is awaiting sentencing.
Created by Congress in 1996, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had never previously been used. The specialized tribunal allows the government to seek the removal of non-citizens accused of terrorism while protecting classified national security information from public disclosure.
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