(Scypre.com) – A Pakistani national with alleged connections to Iran was apprehended last month on charges related to a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump and several other public figures, according to a criminal complaint revealed on Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court.
Although the complaint does not name Trump explicitly, sources familiar with the case confirmed to ABC News that he was among the targets. Other potential targets included officials from both political parties.
Asif Merchant, aged 46, traveled from Pakistan to the U.S. after spending time in Iran. He sought to recruit hitmen for the planned assassination, according to a detention memo. The individual he contacted turned out to be an FBI informant, as detailed in the criminal complaint.
Merchant faces charges of murder for hire. He was arrested on July 12, just one day before Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot in the ear.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani. The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens, and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, commented, “Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of U.S. government officials on American soil.” He added that in April, Merchant arrived from Iran and reached out for assistance with his plot. This contact was with a confidential source who alerted law enforcement. Merchant reportedly met with the source again in early June, discussing the assassination plan and emphasizing it was “not a one-time opportunity.”
The complaint revealed that Merchant requested around 25 individuals for the killings, a protest to serve as a distraction, and a woman for reconnaissance.
By mid-June, he met with individuals he believed were his hired hitmen, but were actually undercover law enforcement officials. Merchant paid these individuals $5,000 in advance for the assassinations before planning to leave the country after the killings. Instead, he was arrested on July 12, the day he intended to depart. “Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were undercover FBI Agents,” stated Christie Curtis, Acting Assistant Director of the FBI New York Field Office.
“This case underscores the dedication and formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York, Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats.”
Officials noted that a final target had not been decided by the time Merchant arranged his departure from the U.S.
Investigators have not found any connection between foreign operatives and Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old who was shot and killed after attempting to assassinate Trump from a rooftop near the rally stage. However, Merchant’s arrest may clarify some last-minute changes in rally security. Pat Young, head of the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, said, “We were initially told that there was no Secret Service snipers coming but that was shifted either Thursday or Friday to indicate that there were. We had been told that this is the first time that a non-sitting president had been allocated Secret Service snipers. So that threw up some alarm bells for some of our guys that — why the sudden shift — from one stance to the other?”