A 30-year-old Afghan citizen has been charged in federal court in Fort Worth in connection with threats he made on social media to build a bomb to kill people in a suicide attack, according to an unsealed complaint.
Mohammad Dawood Alokozay, 30, of Fort Worth, made the threat on a Nov. 23 video call with others while sitting in his car, the complaint said. The video was shared on multiple social media accounts, including TikTok, X, and Facebook, authorities said.
He has been charged with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce. Alokozay remains in custody as he awaits his initial federal court appearance.
Alokozay faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted. He also is charged in Tarrant County with making a terroristic threat, court records show.
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His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
“The video shows Alokozay angrily gesturing and speaking Dari, a language commonly spoken in Afghanistan, while interacting with at least two other males on a video call,” federal authorities said in a news release.
This screenshot of a video chat is alleged to depict Mohammad Dawood Alokozay making threats.
Justice Department
Alokozay told an FBI agent he made the statements while taking part in a TikTok group video chat that evening while sitting in his car in Fort Worth, according to the complaint.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for his Fort Worth home, but the complaint does not say whether or not any incriminating evidence was found.
“We have zero tolerance for violence and threats of violence to kill American citizens and others like those allegedly made by this individual,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould in Dallas said in a statement. “Those individuals who jeopardize the public safety and security of North Texas residents will be swiftly brought to justice.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Alokozay was brought to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, which began in 2021. The operation was a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country. The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the U.S., many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators.
The FBI was notified on Nov. 25 by the Texas Department of Public Safety that a video of the threat was being shared on social media platforms, the complaint said.
Alokozay said in the video that he would build a bomb in his vehicle using material he would acquire in the U.S. and “conduct a suicide attack” on those who were on the call as well as Americans and “infidels,” according to the complaint.
“He also referred to a particular yellow cooking oil container that was favored by the Taliban in building improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan,” the complaint said.
Alokozay also said the Taliban “were dear to him,” according to the complaint. He cursed and threatened those on the call, saying he came to the U.S. to kill, and said he was unafraid of being deported or killed, the complaint said.
State law enforcement authorities identified Alokozay using facial recognition technology and his driver’s license photo, and they learned he lived in Fort Worth and had registered at least two vehicles in Texas, the complaint said.
The FBI learned that Alokozay was employed in Haslet.
On the morning of Nov. 25, federal agents conducted surveillance on his home and later that day arrested Alokozay on his way to work, court records show.
He agreed to speak with an FBI agent using an interpreter and said he was contacted the day after the video by people who had watched it on social media, the criminal complaint said.
“Alokozay responded by deleting his TikTok application from his phone, though it was unclear if Alokozay actually deleted his TikTok account,” the complaint said.
Alokozay entered the U.S. under the same program as the 29-year-old suspect in the Nov. 27 Washington D.C. shooting that killed one West Virginia National Guard member and critically injured another.
That suspect, who had been living in Washington state, was identified by law enforcement officials as Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died after the shooting. She and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were deployed with the West Virginia National Guard as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive crime-fighting plan that federalized the D.C. police force.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, in a statement, blamed the prior administration for the Alokozay incident.
“The public safety threat created by the Biden administration’s vetting breakdown cannot be overstated,” she said. “The Department of Justice will continue working with our federal and state partners to protect the American people from the prior administration’s dangerous incompetence.”
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