The first case in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court involved a woman accused of conspiring with her son and son-in-law to commit a mass shooting on Election Day 2024.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple tier1 and primary sources (DOJ, DHS, Reuters, AP, The Hill) confirm that Nazira Haji Zada was the first case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court and that she was accused of supporting her son and son-in-law's ISIS-inspired mass shooting plot on Election Day 2024.
What was said
… years of being asleep, the Justice Department kind of remembered that the court existed, and it filed its very first case, which I got really excited about because I really love wonky courts. And we learned a few weeks after that, in a public hearing, that the case what had to do with a woman whose son and son-in-law, one of whom has already pled guilty, and the other whom, her son-in-law, is accused of participating in an ISIS-inspired Election Day plot. It was just to allegedly commit a mass shooting on Election Day 2024, and the Justice Department said at the time that this woman is kind of the matriarch of the family, had conspired, um, with her son and son-in-law to, um, to, uh, kind of help this plot happen in November 2024. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The DOJ press release states Nazira Haji Zada was the first-ever case before the ATRC and that as the matriarch she supported an ISIS-inspired mass shooting plot on Election Day 2024 for which her son and son-in-law were arrested and convicted.[3][4]
Supports. Reuters and AP report the hearing was the court's first case and centered on Haji Zada, accused of supporting Islamic State and helping conceal the failed Election Day 2024 mass shooting plot.[1][2]
Supports. NPR and NBC describe her as the first person to appear before the court and say prosecutors alleged she supported a plan by her son and son-in-law for an Election Day 2024 mass shooting.[5][6]
Context. Haji Zada was never criminally charged; she conceded being an alien terrorist and was deported, with the removal order issued Aug. 20 and unsealed in September.[7][8]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 3 tier 2, 1 tier 1
- 1The first case at a secretive US court meant to deport alleged terroristsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Afghan woman whose case was the first for a long-dormant court has been deported, officials sayapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Department of Justice Removes Alien Terrorist in First Use of ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4DHS Announces Removal of Alien Terrorist in First Use of United States Alien Terrorist Removal Courtdhs.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Alien Terrorist Removal Court holds first-ever casenpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6'Alien Terrorist Removal Court,' created in 1996, holds first- ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 7Trump administration announces first-ever deportation from terrorist removal courtthehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: context
- 8Afghan woman in Texas dubbed an "alien terrorist" is ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Justice Department filed its first case in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court approximately two months before September 11, 2026.True
- The government alleged that the Afghan legal permanent resident planned to relocate to Afghanistan with her family while her son and son-in-law carried out a mass attack in November 2024.True
- An Afghan legal permanent resident was deported less than 2 months after a case was filed in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.True
- The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was created in 1996.True
- Helen Sayen Adams, a 67-year-old Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since May 2024, is charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and false statement of citizenship.True