Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn says the attempted bombing plot involving an Afghan national in Fort Worth reflects threats that law enforcement has long expected, pointing to a sharp rise in similar cases over the last several years and ongoing challenges tied to federal vetting and immigration policies.
Waybourn told The Dallas Express that while additional case details could not yet be released, the incident demonstrates the type of danger local, state, and federal agencies have repeatedly warned about.
“Unfortunately we have been speaking of such threats that it was not if but when. Law enforcement has foiled many types of these issues but [the] last 4 years has been overwhelming,” Waybourn said.
“I think it’s no secret that many people came into this country over the last 4 years and we have no idea who they are or what their intent. There is no question some of them are our enemy,” he added. “Each American citizen needs to be vigilant.”
“Thousands of law enforcement and the intelligence community [are] working 7 days a week to get ahead of any threat. We will absolutely ring the bell if we think something is imminent,” Waybourn said.
Fort Worth Bomb Threat Involving Afghan National
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, authorities arrested 33-year-old Afghan national Mohammad Dawood Alokozay after he allegedly posted a TikTok video claiming he was building a bomb and intended to target a location in the Fort Worth area.
He is being held at the Tarrant County Corrections Center on a charge of making a terroristic threat, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer, according to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and confirmation from Sheriff Waybourn.
Alokozay’s booking record shows he was listed as “white,” a classification consistent with federal crime-statistics standards that categorize individuals of Middle Eastern and North African descent under the “White” race category.
National Terror Threat Rising, Report Finds
The Fort Worth arrest comes amid growing concerns over extremist activity tied to foreign-born individuals. A report from the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security documented more than 50 jihadist cases across 29 states between April 2021 and September 2024, including attempts to support ISIS, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and other foreign terrorist organizations.
The report cited rising threats tied to the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack, noting the United States faces a “persistent terror threat.”
Audit: Federal Vetting Failures Allowed Poorly Screened Evacuees Into U.S.
Federal records show that tens of thousands of Afghan nationals were brought to the United States during Operation Allies Welcome in 2021 following the fall of Kabul — including individuals whose identities were never fully verified.
A 2022 Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General audit found widespread problems in the evacuation screening process, including:
- 88,977 evacuee records containing incomplete or questionable biographic data
- Evacuees admitted or paroled into the United States without full vetting
- No contingency plan for evacuees lacking identification
- 1,299 evacuees who arrived without fingerprints collected prior to travel
The OIG concluded DHS “cannot be sure” all evacuees were properly screened.
Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed whether Alokozay — or Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of killing National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom near the White House — moved through these flawed vetting pathways.
Local Reaction
Tarrant County GOP Chairman Tim Davis previously told The Dallas Express that federal race-coding rules and opaque crime statistics have contributed to public mistrust over how threats are tracked and reported.
“Why can’t the government just be honest about this?” Davis said. “We’ll never solve the problem of crime in our neighborhoods if we can’t first be honest with each other about where it’s coming from.”
Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare also responded to the incident, citing failures in federal screening policies.
“The D.C. shooting of National Guard soldiers and the need to prevent an act of terror in Tarrant County are real consequences of the Biden Administration’s woeful standards for refugees and asylum seekers. I commend local and federal law enforcement in Tarrant County for swiftly arresting the man who threatened to blow up a Fort Worth building despite being welcomed into the best country in the world. He is currently in the Tarrant County Jail with an ICE detainer placed on him. Bad policy leads to bad consequences.”
Status of the Investigation
State and federal authorities, including the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, continue to investigate the Fort Worth case.
Law enforcement officials have not announced whether additional arrests are expected or whether Alokozay had ties to any domestic or international extremist groups.
