Anti-terrorism group monitors election threats

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The director of an Oklahoma counterterrorism group said Thursday that the group has no active concerns about threats to election security following the arrest of an Oklahoma City man accused of plotting an Election Day attack.

Allan Young, director of the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center, OCTIC, said the group and its partners are actively working to monitor potential threats to the November 5 election.

Earlier this month, federal authorities charged Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, a 27-year-old Afghan refugee from Oklahoma City, and a juvenile with obtaining AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition and conspiring to support ISIS in an Election Day attack . Tawhedi remains behind bars.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who was first briefed on the investigation in August, told KOCO reporters after Tawhedi’s arrest that a polling place in Oklahoma City was the target.

Young said during a regular OCTIC meeting Thursday that the group recently participated in “tabletop exercises” with the State Election Board and county election officials. Tabletop exercises allow participants to practice and act out their responses to simulated emergency scenarios.

The board meets three times a year to discuss threats. The aim is to identify threats, share information between authorities and prevent terrorist attacks.

He said OCTIC has received about 60 tips in the last month through the ProtectOK app, which allows the public to submit tips about suspicious activity or threats.

Some of these tips were threats against schools, but the content of the others was not disclosed. It is not known whether any were related to the election.

Given recent threats of violence, some voters and election officials have expressed concerns about security at polling locations. Misinformation surrounding the November 5 election and voting is also becoming more widespread on social media, creating further uncertainty around voting.

Young said OCTIC and its many federal and state law enforcement partners will continue to monitor for any threats.

OCTIC works with the FBI, local and regional law enforcement, the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, the Oklahoma National Guard, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and other agencies.