Afghan man arrested in Texas threatened suicide attack: Justice Dept

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A photo of Texas police personnel from May 7, 2023. — Reuters/File
A photo of Texas police personnel from May 7, 2023. — Reuters/File

An Afghan man has been charged in Texas with threatening to build a bomb and carry out a suicide attack, United States officials said on Tuesday, as the Trump administration vows a crackdown on Afghan migrants after a deadly shooting.

Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, 30, of Fort Worth, allegedly made the threats in a November 23 video that he shared on TikTok, X and Facebook, the Justice Department said in a statement.

In the video, Alokozay allegedly praises the Taliban and threatens to carry out a suicide attack on Americans.

“Thanks to public reports of a threatening online video, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force apprehended this individual before he could commit an act of violence,” FBI Dallas special agent in charge Joseph Rothrock said.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Alokozay “came into America during the Biden administration and, as alleged, explicitly stated that he came here in order to kill American citizens”.

He faces up to five years in prison if convicted of making a threatening interstate communication.

Alokozay’s arrest comes a week after the shooting near the White House in Washington of two National Guard members.

A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the attack, which left one of the soldiers dead.

Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed “partner force” fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and entered the United States as part of a resettlement program following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to pause asylum decisions for “a long time” after the shooting.

“We don’t want those people,” he said on social media.

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