Last Updated on August 6, 2024
The DOJ has charged a Pakistani national allegedly tied to the Iranian government with planning to assassinate former President Donald Trump and several other US officials, according to an unsealed Tuesday indictment.
The perp is 46-year-old Asif Merchant, who is accused of traveling to New York to work with hitmen, according to the charges brought forth by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.
Merchant was looking to hire individuals who would steal documents, protest at political rallies and, of course, carry out assassinations against US officials.
According to prosecutors, on July 12, Merchant was arrested shortly before leaving the United States. He had met with several men who he had believed were hitmen but were undercover law enforcement, saying he wanted them to kill a “political person in late August or early September.” Merchant then allegedly planned to pay $5,000 in advance.
The FBI is still working on the discovery of the assassination attempt against Trump by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. An official told CNN that they don’t see any connection between Crook’s attempt and Merchant.
US officials said they had foiled Merchant’s plans of an attack, and he has been cooperative since entering federal custody. Still, the Iranian government has been persistent in its violent rhetoric against Israel and its Zionist allies. According to ABC News, the FBI has passed the info on Merchant to the US Secret Service, who, remember, essentially failed in protecting Trump, resulting in the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle.
National security officials said there is a mounting effort to kill Trump and that Merchant’s plans are just another of a growing list from Iranians.
After a US drone strike killed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020, Iran has pledged to take action ever since.
Related: BREAKING: Iran Prepping for Retaliation Against Israel
In 2022, 45-year-old Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian and IRGC member, allegedly tried to pay $300,0000 to kill former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Prosecutors said this was “likely in retaliation” for Soleimani’s death.
