Three Charged in Alleged Iran-Linked Plot to Assassinate President-Elect Donald Trump

Three individuals have been charged in an alleged Iran-linked plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday in New York. Farhad Shakeri, Carlisle Rivera, and Jonathan Loadholt are facing charges of murder-for-hire, as announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Farhad Shakeri, described by the FBI as an “asset” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is believed to be in Tehran. The IRGC allegedly tasked Shakeri with surveilling and killing Trump to avenge the death of Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

Rivera and Loadholt, who were arrested, were hired by Shakeri while he was in prison in the United States. Shakeri had emigrated to the U.S. but was deported in 2008 after serving prison time for robbery. During his incarceration, he met Rivera and Loadholt and later hired them to target an Iranian-American activist living in Brooklyn.

The complaint also alleges that Shakeri was tasked with carrying out other assassinations against U.S. and Israeli citizens in the United States, including President-elect Trump. He was offered $500,000 by an IRGC official for the murder of either of two Jewish-American citizens residing in New York City. Additionally, Shakeri was tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.

Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the gravity of the threat posed by Iran, stating, “There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams reiterated the commitment to pursuing those who harm U.S. citizens, saying, “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.