Justice Department Charges Three People In Alleged Iranian Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump

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The Justice Department on Friday revealed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Donald Trump. They charged a man who said a government official tasked him with planning the assassination of the president-elect. The plot was allegedly in motion before Trump won the election against VP Kamala Harris on Nov. 6.

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What Investigators Know About The Alleged Plot Against Donald

Investigators learned of the plan to kill Trump from Farhad Shakeri. He is allegedly an Iranian government asset who spent time in American prisons for robbery. Authorities say he has a network of criminal associates Tehran uses for surveillance and murder-for-hire plots.

Shakeri told investigators that a contact in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed him this past September to assemble a plan within seven days to surveil and ultimately kill Trump, AP News reports. The outlet cited a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.

The official allegedly told Shakeri, “We have already spent a lot of money” and that “money’s not an issue.” Shakeri told investigators the official told him that if he could not put together a plan within the seven-day timeframe, then the plot would be paused until after the election. The official reportedly assumed Trump would lose and that it would be easier to kill him then.

More About Farhad Shakeri

Shakeri is an Afghan national who immigrated to the U.S. as a child. He was later deported after spending 14 years in prison for robbery. He also told investigators that the Revolutionary Guard contact tasked him with plotting the killings of two Jewish-Americans living in New York and Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.

The criminal complaint says Shakeri revealed some of the details of the alleged plots in a series of recorded telephone interviews with FBI agents while in Iran. He said he cooperated with investigators to try to get a reduced prison sentence for an associate behind bars in the U.S.

According to the complaint, officials determined that some of the information he provided was false. However, his statements regarding a plot to kill Donald Trump and Iran’s willingness to pay large sums of money were determined to be accurate.

Donald Trump’s Team Reacts To Foiled Plot

The plot reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target U.S. government officials, including Trump, on U.S. soil. Last summer, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a murder-for-hire plot targeting American officials. Iranian operatives also conducted a hack-and-leak operation of emails belonging to Trump campaign associates in what officials have assessed was an effort to interfere in the presidential election.

Intelligence officials have said Iran opposed Trump’s reelection, seeing him as more likely to increase tension between Washington and Tehran. Trump’s administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. That act prompted Iran’s leaders to vow revenge.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the president-elect was aware of the assassination plot and nothing will deter him “from returning to the White House and restoring peace around the world.”

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What Happens Next?

Shakeri is at large and remains in Iran. Two other men were arrested on charges that Shakeri recruited them to follow and kill prominent Masih Alinejad. The Iranian-American journalist has endured multiple Iranian murder-for-hire plots stopped by law enforcement.

“I’m very shocked,” said Alinejad, speaking by telephone to The Associated Press from Berlin. “This is the third attempt against me and that’s shocking.”

In a post on the social media platform X, she said: “I came to America to practice my First Amendment right to freedom of speech — I don’t want to die. I want to fight against tyranny, and I deserve to be safe. Thank you to law enforcement for protecting me, but I urge the U.S. government to protect the national security of America.”

Lawyers for the two other defendants, identified as Jonathan Loadholt and Carlisle Rivera, did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Iran’s U.N. Mission declined to comment.