THE Department of Justice has unsealed federal charges against an Iranian official in connection with a thwarted plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump.
The alleged assassination plot against Trump was placed in the hands of a hitman in late September with plans to take out the president-elect before the November 5 election, according to a criminal complaint.
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29AP
An unnamed official with Iran‘s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard contacted the man, identified as Farhad Shakeri, in December 2023 and first instructed him to put together a plan to assassinate a US citizen, who was of Iranian origin residing in Brooklyn but was outspoken about the regime.
Shakeri, a career criminal who previously served 14 years in a US prison for a robbery conviction, used his criminal network to tap two New York City residents to conduct surveillance and assassination operations on behalf of the Iranian government.
Between February and April, Shakeri exchanged a series of voice messages with his co-defendants, Carlisle Rivera of Brooklyn and Jonathan Loadholt of Staten Island, discussing their target’s routine and how the victim spent most of her time at home.
Shakeri instructed Rivera and Loadholt to remain “patient” and wait for their opportunity to take out their target.
“You just gotta have patience,” Shakeri told Rivera in one of the voice notes, according to the DOJ.
“You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house of coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it.
“Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.”
However, in mid to late September, Shakeri was ordered to drop all his efforts and establish a plan to survey and ultimately assassinate Donald Trump.
If Shakeri was unable to create a meticulous plan they would pause the efforts until after November 5, when Iranian officials believed “Trump would lose and it would easier to assassinate him,” according to the criminal complaint.
Shakeri claimed he did not intend to propse a plan to kill Trump within the timeframe set by Iranian government, the DOJ said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called Iran a “grave threat to the national security of the United States.”
“The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald J. Trump,” Garland said.
“We have also charged and arrested two individuals who were allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on US Sol, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime.
“We will not stand or the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security.”
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