Oklahoma man sentenced to 15 years for ISIS-inspired Election Day attack plot

OKLAHOMA CITY -A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Abdullah Haji Zada, a 19-year-old lawful permanent resident from Afghanistan living in Oklahoma, to 15 years in federal prison for plotting an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on Election Day 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Prosecutors said Zada attempted to receive two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition with the intent to use the weapons in a coordinated attack on behalf of ISIS. Federal agents arrested Zada in October 2024 along with co-conspirator Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 28, also an Afghan citizen, after investigators said the pair sought firearms for the attack.

“Zada was welcomed into the United States and provided with all the opportunities available to resident of our Nation, yet he chose to embrace terrorism,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said. “Today’s sentence, and Zada’s eventual removal from the United States, reflect the seriousness of his betrayal.”

Zada pleaded guilty as an adult on April 17, 2025. U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk in Oklahoma City sentenced him to the statutory maximum of 180 months, citing the seriousness of the planned violence and the need for deterrence.



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