Pakistani man arrested for plot to kill Trump, US officials: 'Straight out of the Iranian playbook'
A Pakistani national with close ties to Iran has been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate U.S. officials, including former President Donald Trump, as part of a murder-for-hire scheme.
Forty-six-year-old Asif Merchant, also known as "Asif Raza Merchant," was arrested last month after being reported to law enforcement by a confidential informant, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Merchant spent time in Iran before he arrived in the United States from Pakistan in April 2024. Upon his arrival, Merchant allegedly began trying to recruit hitmen to assassinate politicians and government officials on U.S. soil.
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"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," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
"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," he continued.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that Merchant's "dangerous murder-for-hire plot" is "straight out of the Iranian playbook."
"A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI," Wray said.
Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York expressed gratitude to the FBI's field offices in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago and Albany for their cooperation on the case.
The confidential source, identified in court documents as CS, said he met with Merchant in early June to discuss the assassination plot and explained that the intended victims would be targeted in the U.S.
"Merchant told the CS that the opportunity he had for the CS was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing," the DOJ statement explains. "Merchant instructed the CS to arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions."
The plots involved multiple criminal schemes, stealing documents or USB drives from targets' homes, planning protests and killing a politician or government official, prosecutors allege. Merchant planned potential assassination scenarios and questioned CS about how he would kill a target in different situations and how the target would die. The plotted assassination would have occurred after Merchant left the U.S.
The Pakistani national requested that CS arrange meetings with others he could hire for his plan. In response to CS's question about whether Merchant had spoken with a "party" he was working with, Merchant replied that the party back home told him to "finalize" the plan and leave the U.S.
The Pakistani national later met with undercover U.S. law enforcement officers in mid-June posing as hitmen. He told the undercover officers that he would provide instructions on who to kill at the end of August or the beginning of September after he had left the U.S.
"Merchant then began arranging means to obtain $5,000 in cash to pay the UCs as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas," the DOJ reported.
"On June 21, Merchant met with the UCs in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. After the Merchant paid the $5,000 to the UCs, one of the UCs stated, 'Now we're bonded,' to which the Merchant responded, 'Yes.' The UC then stated, 'Now we know we're going forward. We're doing this,' to which Merchant responded 'Yes, absolutely,'" the report continued.
Law enforcement agents arrested Merchant on July 12 before he could leave the U.S., as he had made plans to depart from the country.
Sources familiar with the case told CBS News that Trump was one of the intended targets of the murder-for-hire scheme in addition to other politicians from across the political spectrum. Intelligence about the plot was part of the reason the U.S. Secret Service increased security assets for the former president and current GOP presidential nominee, the sources added.
A Pennsylvania law enforcement official informed the outlet that, at the moment, there does not appear to be a connection between Merchant's alleged plans to murder political targets and the near assassination of Trump during a rally last month in Butler.
The news of the charges against Merchant comes not long after a 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump by firing a rifle from an elevated position located near the former president's rally in Pennslyvania.
Crooks's bullet struck Trump in the ear but did not kill him. Two rally attendees were wounded in the shooting, and one attendee was killed.
The FBI and law enforcement agencies are still investigating a possible motive behind the assassination attempt. While reports indicate that the gunman was a registered Republican, federal campaign finance records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
