New York: In a plot that reads like a spy thriller, Pakistani citizen Asif Merchant has been charged in an elaborate scheme to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The charges were announced by US Attorney General Merrick Garland, who hinted at Trump being the target without explicitly naming him.
“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 Qassem Soleimani,” Garland stated. Trump’s order in 2020 to kill Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad points to him as the intended victim.
Court documents suggest other American officials might also have been targets, with references to multiple individuals.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Chief Christopher Wray described the plot as a “dangerous murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran.”
Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, claimed to have two wives, one in Pakistan and one in Iran, with children in both countries. The complaint filed in Brooklyn’s Federal court outlines a complex scheme involving burglary, creating diversions with protests, and ultimately assassinating a politician.
Merchant devised code names for the plot’s elements: “tee-shirt” for protests, “flannel shirt” for stealing documents, “fleece jacket” for the assassination, and “yarn-dye” for their meetings.
In an attempt to lure a potential accomplice who later informed authorities, Merchant proposed a business venture involving his “uncle in the yarn-dyed business” in Pakistan.
Merchant’s plan included recruiting what he thought were professional killers but were actually undercover FBI agents. He provided detailed instructions on how to steal documents, arrange protests, and kill a “political person.”
The plot failed when Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he prepared to leave the country. Having arrived in the US from Pakistan in April after spending time in Iran, Merchant contacted a person he believed could assist him, who then reported him to law enforcement and became a confidential source.
In mid-June, Merchant met with undercover law enforcement officers in New York, outlining his plan. He stated the assassination should occur after he left the country, specifying late August or early September as the timeframe.
Merchant received $5,000 from overseas and made a down payment to the undercover agents. After the payment, one of the agents remarked, “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” to which Merchant affirmed, “Yes, absolutely.”
This revelation follows a failed assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than a month ago, which officials attribute to a lone wolf attacker.
Political violence remains a significant concern in the US. Last week, a man was arrested in Virginia for allegedly threatening to kill Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, with additional threats against President Joe Biden and FBI Chief Wray.
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