US Indicts Man Over Alleged Iranian Plot to Assassinate Trump

The United States government has filed charges against an individual of Afghan nationality concerning a purported Iranian scheme to assassinate Donald Trump prior to his election as the subsequent president. On Friday, the Department of Justice disclosed an indictment against Farhad Shakeri, aged 51, asserting that he was assigned the role of “providing a plan” for Trump’s assassination. According to the US government, Mr. Shakeri has not been apprehended and is thought to be located in Iran, a nation that characterized these allegations as “completely baseless.” Prosecutors, in a criminal complaint submitted to a Manhattan court, contend that an officer within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard instructed Mr. Shakeri in September to formulate a strategy to monitor and assassinate Trump. In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland declared, “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.” The justice department additionally brought charges against two other individuals purportedly enlisted to murder an American journalist known for being an outspoken critic of Iran. These individuals were named by the justice department as Carlisle Rivera, also known as “Pop”, 49, residing in Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, from Staten Island. Both individuals made a court appearance in the Southern District of New York on Thursday and remain in custody awaiting trial. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, stated that comparable allegations of efforts to assassinate US presidents have surfaced previously, which Iran refuted and were subsequently proven untrue. Mr. Baghaei further commented in a statement that reiterating these assertions risked “further complicating the issues between the US and Iran.” This year, Trump has been the subject of two distinct alleged assassination attempts. In July, a shooter grazed the former president’s ear after firing upon him during a rally in Pennsylvania. Subsequently, in September, an individual was apprehended for aiming a rifle at Trump while he was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach. The indictment claims that Mr. Shakeri was instructed to devise a plan to assassinate Trump within a seven-day period. Prosecutors state that Mr. Shakeri informed law enforcement that he had no intention of presenting such a scheme within that timeframe, leading Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials to suspend the plan. Mr. Shakeri reportedly stated that the Iranian government conveyed to him that an assassination attempt on Trump would be simpler after the election, as they anticipated his defeat, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors characterized Mr. Shakeri as an Afghan national who arrived in the US during his childhood. He was ultimately deported around 2008, having served 14 years in prison following a robbery conviction. According to prosecutors, the 51-year-old utilized “a network of criminal associates” from prison, which included Mr. Rivera and Mr. Loadholt, to carry out surveillance on individuals targeted by the Iranian government. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Shakeri offered Mr. Rivera and Mr. Loadholt $100,000 to assassinate the American journalist, who had previously reported on the Iranian regime’s human rights violations and corruption. Prosecutors noted that the journalist, whose name was withheld, had been a target on prior occasions. On Friday, Brooklyn-based journalist Masih Alinejad stated in a social media post that the FBI had apprehended two men in connection with an attempt on her life. She indicated that the alleged assailants arrived at the front of her residence in Brooklyn. Ms. Alinejad wrote, “I came to America to practice my First Amendment right to freedom of speech—I don’t want to die. I want to fight against tyranny, and I deserve to be safe.” Beyond the American journalist and Trump, the indictment claims that the Iranian government intended to eliminate two Jewish American businesspeople residing in New York City, who had expressed support for Israel on social media. Mr. Shakeri further informed prosecutors that his Iranian contacts had requested him to organize a mass shooting targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka in October 2024, one year following the Hamas attacks on Israel. Mr. Shakeri, Mr. Rivera, and Mr. Loadholt have all been charged with murder-for-hire, an offense punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison. They are also facing charges of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a potential sentence of 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.