Khdiga Metwally registered in June as a candidate for Halton District School Board trustee representing Milton Wards 1 and 2 in the October 26 election. Her son, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, was sentenced in December 2018 to four decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to terrorism charges. In December 2020, while already imprisoned for the New York terror plot, El Bahnasawy stabbed two corrections officers at a Pennsylvania prison with a homemade weapon. One officer lost his right eye. A note found in El Bahnasawy’s sock read: “This is a terrorist attack for the Islamic State.”
Amy Collard, chair of the Halton District School Board, has publicly endorsed Metwally’s candidacy. “Khdiga Metwally would bring a fresh perspective to the HDSB board table,” Collard wrote. “Khdiga fully understands the role of public school board Trustees, and is prepared to support the academic achievement and wellbeing of all our students.” The endorsement has drawn scrutiny after the story gained attention on social media and conservative outlets in early September.
The Terror Plot
U.S. prosecutors documented that El Bahnasawy, then 18, worked with ISIS operatives to plan mass-casualty attacks in New York City during Ramadan 2016. He purchased approximately 40 pounds of hydrogen peroxide for making explosives, along with Christmas lights, batteries, thermometers, and aluminum foil. Court records show El Bahnasawy told an undercover FBI agent: “These Americans need an attack. I wanna create the next 9/11.”
The plot targeted Times Square, the New York City subway system, and concert venues. El Bahnasawy coordinated with co-conspirators in Pakistan and the Philippines, shipped bomb-making materials to New York, and traveled from Canada to New Jersey in May 2016 to execute the attacks. The FBI arrested him in a hotel parking lot.
Prosecutors rejected defense arguments that mental illness mitigated his culpability. “El Bahnasawy may be polite, soft-spoken, and articulate, but make no mistake — behind that veil is a dangerous and calculating man who displayed a knowing, willing and steadfast desire to kill,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman wrote in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
Years of Public Advocacy
Since her son’s arrest, Metwally has campaigned publicly for his transfer to Canada and blamed law enforcement agencies for his conviction. In a 2018 CBC interview, she said: “They [the FBI and RCMP] knew my son was sick, and they continued.” She characterized her son as vulnerable to “manipulation” by ISIS recruiters and undercover agents.
Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Review Agency investigated the family’s complaint that the RCMP entrapped El Bahnasawy. In October 2023, NSIRA vice-chair Craig Forcese found the RCMP conducted a “good faith investigation” based on “credible evidence of an existing willingness by Mr. El Bahnasawy to commit acts of violence.” The review concluded: “I have found no evidence on the record before me of entrapment.”
Court documents revealed El Bahnasawy’s extensive involvement in ISIS networks before the plot. Beginning in late 2015, he communicated with high-level ISIS recruiters, administered ISIS hacking groups, vetted new ISIS contacts, shipped cellphones to ISIS operatives, and wired $500 to ISIS-connected individuals. An FBI investigation found El Bahnasawy was “determined to move his plot from online into the real world,” according to the NSIRA report.
The Campaign
Metwally’s campaign materials describe her as holding a PhD in “Community Building and Human Development” and serving as founder and director of the Canadian Centre for Training and Consultation. Her candidate profile states she worked as a “University Department Chair” and “former Life Skills Teacher.” The materials make no mention of her son’s convictions or her years advocating that he was entrapped.
In her campaign statement, Metwally cited “personal family experience” that “has shown me the value of early understanding, compassionate support, and appropriate intervention” regarding mental health support in schools.
The story gained public attention in early September after a social media post alerting voters to Metwally’s family connection received more than 72,000 views. Conservative outlets subsequently covered the race. Neither Metwally nor Collard has issued a public statement since the controversy emerged.
El Bahnasawy is currently held at ADX Florence in Colorado, known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” where inmates spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. He pleaded guilty in November 2025 to stabbing the two prison officers and providing material support to ISIS.
The election is October 26. Metwally faces one opponent, Andrew Wood, for the Ward 1 and 2 trustee seat.