An Afghan woman accused of supporting a plot to carry out a mass shooting in the United States has been sent back to Afghanistan in the first case heard by a special US terror court, the Department of Justice said .
Nazira Haji Zada, 47, a Texas resident, was removed from the United States on August 25 on the orders of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) in Washington, the department said in a statement.
The ATRC was established by Congress 30 years ago but had never previously been used.
It allows for the presentation of classified evidence whose public disclosure the government believes would endanger national security.
The Department of Justice said that Zada, who came to the United States in 2018, “conceded that she is an alien terrorist and waived appeal of the removal order.”
“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 in a statement.
“This first-ever case before the ATRC shows how the Department will use every tool at its disposal to protect our country.”
Zada’s son, Abdullah Haji Zada pleaded guilty — alongside a co-conspirator, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi — to plotting an attack on US election day in 2024 on behalf of the Islamic State.
Abdullah Haji Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2025. Tawhedi is awaiting sentencing.
According to court documents, the pair purchased two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI employee to carry out a “mass-casualty attack.”
The Department of Justice’s public announcement of Zada’s removal was made on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.
