Key Points:
- Afghan national in Texas arrested after posting TikTok video allegedly showing him assembling an explosive device
- Arrest occurred less than 24 hours before a separate terror attack on National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C
- Second suspect, also an Afghan national, accused of shooting and critically wounding two Guard members in a deliberate act of terror
- Back-to-back incidents prompt President Trump to intensify new immigration and security measures
- Federal agencies ordered to re-review cases of Afghans admitted under Operation Allies Welcome
WASHINGTON, DC: An Afghan national paroled into the United States under President Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, just a day before a separate terror attack against National Guard soldiers in the nation’s capital, authorities revealed on Saturday.
According to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security, the suspect — identified as Mohammad Dawood Alokozay — had posted a TikTok video showing himself assembling what he implied was an explosive device. McLaughlin said the footage suggested the Fort Worth area was his intended target.
Alokozay was taken into custody on Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. He has been charged with making terroristic threats.
The arrest occurred less than 24 hours before another Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly opened fire on National Guard soldiers during a routine patrol in Washington, D.C., critically wounding two service members. Authorities called the shooting a deliberate act of terror. Lakanwal, who had been in the United States for over a year, was quickly apprehended.
A Homeland official could not confirm any connection between the two Afghan men, and it was not immediately known how Alokozay got his immigration status through the Biden-era program, according to Fox News.
Court records show that Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was charged at the state level with making a terroristic threat.
The two incidents, occurring in rapid succession, have intensified the urgency behind President Donald Trump’s new immigration directives. The president recently launched a “reverse migration” initiative aimed at removing immigrants he says “do not belong here or do not add benefit to our country.”
Trump has also ordered federal agencies to conduct heightened security reviews of Afghans admitted under Operation Allies Welcome, calling for a case-by-case reassessment of their status.
He has further vowed a permanent halt to migration from all third-world countries and instructed his administration to reexamine every refugee, parole, and humanitarian program established during the Biden administration.
More policy directives are expected in the coming weeks as federal agencies expand their scrutiny of recent arrivals.
