An Afghan national named Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was arrested in Texas this week after he allegedly posted a TikTok video saying he was making a bomb and planned to target a building in the Fort Worth area. This information was shared with Fox News by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Alokozay was arrested just one day before a separate and deadly shooting in Washington, DC, involving another Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
Who is Mohammad Dawood Alokozay?
Mohammad Dawood Alokozay is an Afghan national who came to the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, the programme launched during Joe Biden’s presidency to bring Afghan evacuees to safety after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. He had been living in the US since then and remained unknown until this week, when his name surfaced after authorities said he posted a TikTok video claiming he was making a bomb to target a building in the Fort Worth area of Texas.
Alokozay was taken into custody on Tuesday in a joint operation involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. After the arrest, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer on him, which means he will stay in custody while immigration authorities decide the next steps.
The DC shooting and the second Afghan suspect
Alokozay’s arrest came just a day before White House shooting involving another Afghan national. Lakanwal, who is 29, is accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House on Wednesday. One of the soldiers, Spec. Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries, while the other remains wounded.
Lakanwal was initially booked on assault charges, but these charges were later upgraded to first-degree murder, according to The Washington Post. Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, DC, said more charges may follow. Even though Washington, DC, no longer allows the death penalty, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday that she will still push for it in this case.
Lakanwal also came to the US in 2021 under the same programme as Alokozay, Operation Allies Welcome. He lived in Washington state, applied for asylum in December last year, and got approval in April. According to the investigators, he had no known criminal history before the shooting. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that Lakanwal had previously worked with the US government, including the CIA, as part of a partner force in Kandahar.
After the DC shooting, President Donald Trump said his administration would re-examine every Afghan national who entered the US during Biden’s presidency. He has also announced a complete freeze on immigration requests from Afghan nationals, a pause on visas for people travelling on Afghan passports and a pause on all migration from “Third World countries”, which includes many countries in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East.
