The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with connections to the Iranian government, for conspiring to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other U.S. leaders.
Merchant, 46, is currently in custody, accused of traveling to New York City to collaborate with a hitman on plans to assassinate Trump and other political figures, with the attacks reportedly scheduled for late August or early September, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.
Court documents released on Tuesday reveal that this case has prompted increased security measures for Trump and other U.S. officials.
Merchant was arrested on July 12 while preparing to leave the country, shortly after meeting with individuals he believed to be hitmen, who turned out to be undercover law enforcement agents.
This alarming news follows FBI intelligence that suggested the Iranian government was plotting Trump’s assassination in retaliation for the killing of General Qassim Suleimani in 2021. Iran has denied these allegations.
In a separate incident, Trump narrowly escaped assassination when Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania, fired shots during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Despite these events, no evidence has connected Merchant to any previous assassination attempts on Trump.
