-
The DOJ announced on Tuesday that it is charging a Pakistani man with plotting the assassinations of US officials.
-
Asif Merchant is accused of having connections to Iran and trying to hire killers in New York.
-
The DoJ has not said who was targeted, Donald Trump was said to be one of those threatened.
The Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man who traveled to New York and Houston with plotting the political assassination of US officials.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, was arrested on July 12 and federal prosecutors have accused him of having close ties to the Iranian government.
The Justice Department said he planned to hire a woman to carry out the hit-and-runs as well as 25 people to stage a demonstration as a distraction after the killings.
The DOJ’s complaint, unsealed Tuesday, did not say who Merchant was targeting. But CNN and Reuters, both citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said officials believed former President Donald Trump was among those threatened.
The 20-year-old gunman tried to kill Trump on July 13 – the day after Merchant’s arrest – in Butler, Pennsylvania. No evidence has been uncovered to link the attack to Merchant.
While the DOJ did not specifically say Merchant was working with Iran, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the case was “straight out of the Iranian playbook.”
Several other officials, including the FBI special agent in charge of Merchant’s case, also cited Iranian threats against the U.S. government in testimony and court documents.
The United States has been concerned about Iranian retaliation for a 2020 drone strike ordered by Trump that killed General Qasem Soleimani, the top commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s UN mission and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment outside of normal business hours.
The merchant’s plans, as told by the DOJ
Prosecutors said Merchant had spent time in Iran before arriving in the United States in April and also traveled frequently to Syria and Iraq. Authorities also said he mentioned he has a wife and children in Iran.
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Merchant said he intended to target “those who are harming Pakistan and the world, the Muslim world.”
His first stop was Houston, where he contacted the person under the pretense that he wanted to start a business, according to the document.
However, the unnamed person suspected that something was wrong and went to inform the law enforcement authorities.
Investigators said Merchant then flew to New York that month to meet with the informant and said the latter could make up to $100,000 for helping with his schemes. To signal his intent, Merchant made a “finger gun” motion with his hand, according to prosecutors.
The informant later introduced Merchant to two men he thought were possible hitmen, but prosecutors say were actually undercover cops.
The document said he presented himself as a “representative” of foreign parties and suggested he was taking instructions to “finalize” his plan and leave the United States.
Prosecutors said Merchant met several times with undercover officers and asked them to speak in code.
He said he would likely give them instructions via a secure cell phone in August or September 2024 and gave them a $5,000 cash advance, according to the criminal complaint.
The DOJ added that the trader had also asked the men to steal documents, stage a fake protest and launder money.
Authorities said he was arrested in Texas after returning to the state to fly from the United States, where a note detailing all of his code words was found in his briefcase. The merchant is in federal custody and the FBI is investigating the case, officials said.
CNN reports that prior to the Butler rally assassination attempt, officials had passed this intelligence from Merchant to the Secret Service.
Trump’s campaign was previously reported to have stepped up security after learning of an Iranian plan to kill the former president.
The fact that the young shooter was still able to shoot Trump at the rally raised questions about the former president’s protection measures.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s after-hours request for comment.
Read the original article on Business Insider
