OKLAHOMA CITY — An Afghan teenager accused of taking part in an Oklahoma plot to carry out an Election Day attack has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Abdullah Haji Zada, 18, a citizen of Afghanistan who was living in Moore, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to knowingly receiving and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used in a terrorist attack, court records show.
Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, is awaiting sentencing and faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Zada also agreed to be removed from the United States after he is released from prison, court records show.
Telephone and email messages left on Thursday with Zada’s attorney, Jeff Byers, were not immediately returned.
Zada’s co-defendant, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, who previously worked as a security guard for an American military installation in Afghanistan, is currently awaiting trial for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors allege Zada and Tawhedi took steps to obtain AK-47 rifles and ammunition and planned to carry out an attack targeting large crowds on Election Day last year.