An Iranian terror suspect illegally in the U.S. was reportedly charged with beating and torturing his wife before the Trump administration detained him.
Prosecutors in Harris County, Texas, accused Yousef Mehridehno of assault on a family member in 2007, court records show. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Mehridehno in Mississippi on Sunday, declaring him a âknown or suspected terroristâ with a fraudulent visa as federal officials warn of a heightened risk of Iran-inspired attacks on U.S. soil.
Harris County authorities alleged that Mehridehno beat his wife, burned her and tried to attack her with a knife, WLBT3 reported, citing documents from the case. The district attorneyâs office tried to convict him for two years, but procedural issues such as filing errors hampered the case until the charges were ultimately dismissed, according to the outlet.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. An attorney for Meridehno could not be reached.
Mehridehno was one of several Iranian nationals ICE arrested on the weekend of President Donald Trumpâs Saturday bombing of Iranâs nuclear sites, the DHS said in a Tuesday press release. Though the DHS labeled him a known or suspected terrorist in February, the agency knew as far back as 2017 that âhe lied on his original visa application and committed potential marriage fraud,â the press release said.
Other Iranians detained included people with connections to the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah and the Iranian military, according to the DHS.
A Sunday DHS memo warned that âviolent extremistsâ could be more likely to wage terrorist attacks in the U.S. due to Trumpâs strikes.
âDHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Bidenâs fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,â DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Tuesday. âWe have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out â and we are.â
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