The Trump Justice Department filed the first-ever case before a special terrorist removal court to deport an Afghan woman who allegedly helped radicalize her family members for a planned ISIS massacre on American soil during the 2024 election.

Historic Terrorist Removal Case

Federal prosecutors brought charges against Nazira Haji Zada in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, seeking her deportation to Afghanistan. The 66-year-old woman, residing in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested this week and appeared before Chief Judge Joan Ericksen on Thursday. According to court documents, Zada worked with family members to radicalize relatives and conceal pro-ISIS teaching while living in America as a lawful permanent resident since March 2018.

The Trump administration has brought the first case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court, seeking to oust an Afghan woman who prosecutors say supported her son's ISIS-inspired plot to kill people on Election Day in 2024. https://t.co/tR4iZFdjmI

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) July 30, 2026

FBI Director Kash Patel called the case a historic step, stating no one should be allowed to enter the country and betray it. The special court, created by Congress in 1996, consists of five U.S. district court judges designated by the Chief Justice to review removal applications for identified alien terrorists. This marks the first time prosecutors have used this legal mechanism in its 30-year existence.

The Election Day Plot

Zada is the mother of Abdullah Haji Zada and mother-in-law of Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, both arrested on October 7, 2024, after purchasing firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee. The men planned to slaughter as many Americans as possible on Election Day 2024 on behalf of ISIS. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents filed July 15, Zada meets the legal definition of an alien terrorist under federal law.

Her husband worked for the United States at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016, which facilitated the family’s immigration. Despite this connection to American service, prosecutors allege Zada actively undermined national security by indoctrinating family members in extremist ideology after arriving in the United States.

Biden Administration’s Vetting Failure

The case highlights concerns raised by President Trump and then-Senator JD Vance about the Biden administration’s accelerated admission of thousands of Afghans following the 2021 Kabul collapse. Critics warned that inadequate vetting would allow extremists to slip through screening processes. The Zada family’s case confirms those warnings, demonstrating how multiple radicalized individuals gained entry and remained in the country long enough to plot a domestic terror attack. The Trump Justice Department’s unprecedented use of the special terrorist court signals a harder line on removing threats that entered during the previous administration’s chaotic withdrawal.