The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced federal charges on Friday against three individuals involved in an alleged Iranian-backed plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump. The plot, reportedly orchestrated by Iranian officials, was uncovered as the suspects prepared to move forward with the operation before the 2024 election.
According to DOJ documents, Iranian officials directed Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national based in Tehran, to surveil Trump and devise an assassination plan. The court filing states that Shakeri, a known associate of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was tasked with targeting Trump and was instructed to submit a detailed plan within a week. However, if a plan could not be arranged in time, Iranian officials allegedly advised waiting until after the election, assuming Trump might lose.
Shakeri is still at large in Iran, but two co-conspirators, American citizens Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, were apprehended in New York. Rivera and Loadholt face charges related to surveillance of an Iranian-American activist and journalist, Masih Alinejad, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime who was reportedly also targeted for assassination.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the threats, stating, “The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who directed a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.” FBI Director Christopher Wray echoed the concern, noting that Iran’s actions reflect a serious threat to U.S. national security.
The DOJ filing reveals that Shakeri met a senior IRGC member through business dealings in Iran’s oil sector and subsequently used connections with criminal associates in the U.S. to monitor high-profile targets. Shakeri is accused of paying Rivera and Loadholt to track Alinejad’s movements, even recording conversations where they discussed surveillance methods and obstacles to carrying out the attack.
Prosecutors say the suspects also conspired to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka and Jewish businesspeople in New York.
