Washington: An Afghan woman who supported her family’s plan for an ISIS-inspired mass shooting during the 2024 US election has been deported, the Justice Department said on Friday.
Nazira Haji Zada, 47, was returned to Afghanistan in the first case heard by the US Alien Terrorist Removal Court, the Department of Justice said.
She previously lived in Fort Worth, Texas, and is permanently barred from re-entering the United States.
Zada conceded that she was an “alien terrorist” and waived her right to appeal, the department said.
The court ordered her removal on August 20. The order was unsealed on Friday, after her return to Afghanistan.
Son, Abdullah Haji Zada, and son-in-law, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, were arrested on October 7, 2024, after buying firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.
Abdullah, who was 17 when arrested, pleaded guilty as an adult and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He has agreed to be deported to Afghanistan after serving his sentence.
Tawhedi, 28, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2025, to two terrorism-related offences involving support for ISIS and the acquisition of firearms and ammunition. He is awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents cited by the department, Tawhedi admitted conspiring to buy two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition and 10 magazines.
The planned mass-casualty attack was to take place on or around election day on November 5, 2024.
Alleging that the family began selling belongings to fund the attack, federal prosecutors said Zada signed a contract to sell the family home.
The family also bought one-way tickets to Kabul for travel shortly before election day.
The tickets included Zada and minor children, but not Abdullah or Tawhedi.
“This landmark case, resulting in the prompt removal of this alien terrorist to her country of origin, is a win for national security and the rule of law,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
“An individual who supported a plot by ISIS-sympathising family members to commit an attack in America has paid the price for that,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The US government filed the removal application on July 15.
It used classified information to establish its case and gave Zada and her two federal public defenders about half a terabyte of supporting documents, the department said.
Chief Judge Joan N. Ericksen presided over Zada’s first court appearance on July 30 and later signed the removal order.
(IANS)
