What happened
A 47-year-old Afghan national, Nazira Haji Zada, has been deported from the United States after admitting to planning an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on Election Day in 2024. Zada, who lived in Fort Worth, Texas, plotted the attack with her son and son-in-law, who have both been arrested and convicted.
Zada's case was the first to be heard by the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, which was established by Congress in 1996. The court issued a deportation order for Zada, which was carried out after she waived her right to appeal.
According to the Justice Department, Zada's son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and her son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested in October 2024 after stockpiling firearms and ammunition for the planned attack. Abdullah pleaded guilty and received a 15-year prison sentence, while Tawhedi pleaded guilty to charges related to supporting ISIS and has yet to be sentenced.
The family had begun selling their possessions, including furniture and cars, to fund the attack, and had purchased one-way airline tickets to Kabul, Afghanistan, for Zada and other family members.
