Justice Department announces the arrest of Afghan national accused of making bomb threats online

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department announced on Tuesday the arrest of an Afghan national accused of making bomb threats against Americans during a video chat posted online.

The arrest of Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, a 30-year-old who lives in Texas, was announced days after the shooting of two National Guard members – one who later died from her wounds – allegedly by a suspect who is also from Afghanistan.

After the shooting, President Donald Trump argued the attack carried out by a lone gunman “underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” calling for increased measures to remove immigrants who do “not belong here or add benefit to our country.”

The Justice Department announced Alokozay’s arrest on Tuesday, sharing images from a video in which prosecutors say he made threats against Americans and “infidels” during a November 23 call with others who were not identified. The video was flagged to the FBI by other law enforcement, according to prosecutors.

“As alleged, Alokozay threatened to conduct a suicide attack on the other participants on the call, as well as ‘infidels’ and Americans,” the Justice Department announced in a press release Tuesday. “He claimed he would build a bomb in his vehicle and talked about a particular yellow cooking oil container favored by the Taliban in building improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan.”

The Justice Department added that the man “stated the Taliban were dear to him and that he came to the United States to kill those on the call.” He is being prosecuted in the Northern District of Texas.

The arrest comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is recommending Trump add at least 10 more countries to the US’ travel ban — a list that currently includes Afghanistan and 18 other countries.

Noem and other Trump administration officials have blamed the Biden administration for allowing the National Guard shooting suspect into the country. He entered the country though a Biden-era program aimed at resettling Afghan nationals and was granted asylum in April during President Donald Trump’s second term.

In a statement Tuesday, Attorney General Pamela Bondi blamed the Biden administration for allowing Alokozay into the country as well.

“This Afghan national came into America during the Biden administration and as alleged, explicitly stated that he came here in order to kill American citizens,” Bondi said.

The Justice Department is not alleging any connection between the arrests of the two men, and there is no mention of the National Guard troops’ shooting in the court filings.

Prosecutors said in charging documents that Alokozay admitted to being the individual in the video and to making those threats when interviewed by investigators.

CNN is attempting to locate an attorney for Alokozay.

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