US Arrests Pakistani Man in Alleged Plot to Assassinate Trump
A Pakistani individual with connections to Iran has been charged in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Donald Trump and other notable US political figures. FBI Director Christopher Wray described the scheme as a “dangerous murder-for-hire plot… straight out of the Iranian playbook.”
The suspect, 46-year-old Asif Merchant, allegedly attempted to hire a hitman in New York to carry out the assassinations. Sources reported to CBS, a BBC news partner, that Donald Trump was among the targets. Security measures for the former president were heightened in June after intelligence indicated an Iranian plan to kill him.
“Any foreign-directed plot to kill a public official or any US citizen is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI,” Wray emphasized on Tuesday. Merchant was apprehended in July and is currently detained in New York.
According to the Justice Department’s indictment, Merchant arrived in the US from Pakistan in April, having previously spent time in Iran. Shortly after his arrival, he allegedly reached out to someone he believed could assist with the assassination plot. This individual later reported Merchant to the authorities.
Merchant allegedly gestured with a “finger gun” when discussing his intentions. The indictment also revealed that Merchant indicated the job would require ongoing services and not be a “one-time opportunity.”
Merchant allegedly told the contact that he intended to leave the US before the targets were eliminated and that he would maintain communication using code words. He requested the contact arrange a meeting with potential assassins, who turned out to be undercover FBI agents posing as hitmen.
Merchant allegedly directed these agents to steal documents from one of the target’s homes, organize protests at political rallies, and assassinate a “political person.” The indictment stated that Merchant planned to reveal the specific targets in late August or early September.
While the indictment did not explicitly name Trump, CBS sources indicated that the former president was one of the intended targets. This plot is separate from the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Trump, along with officials such as his former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, have faced threats from Tehran since the 2020 drone strike that killed Qassim Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, in Iraq.
