FBI charges man with Iranian murder-for-hire plot against Trump
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President-elect Trump speaks during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
The Justice Department charged a man on Friday who was tasked with planning an Iranian plot to murder President-elect Trump ahead of the election.
The big picture: U.S. officials have long warned about Iran targeting American leaders. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday Iran poses a "grave" threat to the United States' national security.
Driving the news: The man charged, 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri, is an Afghan national believed to reside in Iran, and he is still at large.
- He was tasked in September with "surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating" Trump, per the Justice Department.
- On Oct. 7, he was told to provide a plan to assassinate the former president within the following week.
- If he couldn't, the effort would be paused until after the election, per the complaint. An official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Trump was expected to lose the presidential race, and it would be easier to kill him then.
- Investigators learned about the claim while interviewing Shakeri.
Zoom out: Two other men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York were also charged.
- They were recruited to silence and kill an Iranian American journalist who has been critical of Iran's regime, per the Justice Department.
Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad shared a video on X describing herself as the victim in the situation outlined by the complaint.
- Alinejad was supposed to speak at Fairfield University, where the would-be assassins would have been waiting for her.
- "I've been given a second life," she said. "No, third life."
Flashback: Trump avoided two assassination attempts during his recent bid for president. Neither has been linked to Iran, but the U.S Secret Service ramped up security around Trump in July, weeks prior to the first assassination attempt after finding out about an Iranian plot.
- Trump said in September after the second assassination attempt, that he had been briefed on Iran's efforts to assassinate him.
- Iran was seen as the biggest nation-state threat to the presidential election.
What they're saying: U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said in a statement: "Today's charges are another message to those who continue in their efforts — we will remain unrelenting in our pursuit of bad actors, no matter where they reside, and will stop at nothing to bring to justice those who harm our safety and security."
Go deeper: U.S. says Iran sent Biden camp stolen Trump info in election interference bid
