(ProsperNews.net) – A Pakistani national with ties to the government of Iran was arrested in connection to an assassination plot against several US government officials, including former President Donald Trump just a few weeks before the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania.
Forty-six-year-old Asif Raza Merchant was caught after traveling to New York City to participate in a plot to assassinate several US government officials and other figures, which reportedly may have included Trump.
New York Eastern District US Attorney Breon Peace said Merchant was “working on behalf of others overseas” and was planning to murder multiple US officials “on American soil.” Law enforcement arrested Merchant on Friday, July 12, just one day before the failed attempted assassination plot against Trump took place in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He was trying to leave the US and told investigators he has two wives and sets of children, one in Iran and another in Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Pakistani national was hit with charges for “murder-for-hire” for trying to participate in a “scheme” to kill politicians and officials in the US. According to the complaint, one of those targets may have been Trump, and the assassinations were supposed to happen in August or September.
Merchant tried to hire a hitman to assassinate various figures without realizing he was involved in a larger sting operation conducted by the FBI, according to Christie Curtis, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge at the New York Field Office. The alleged hitman was an undercover FBI agent.
Curtis praised the agents involved in the operation and the “analysts and prosecutors” of the Justice Department, who said their “dedication and formidable efforts” prevented a potentially “tragic outcome” had Merchant’s plan succeeded. She said his capture reaffirmed the “commitment” of the agency toward protecting national security and US citizens and officials.
Investigators said Merchant’s plot had no connection to the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania, and that he was also planning to target officials and politicians from both major political parties.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland, who also announced the arrest of Merchant, said “multiple cases” have been brought against individuals by the Justice Department for involvement in plots to target Americans in connection with the Iranian government. Garland said they “expect these threats” to continue.
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