The US Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man identified as Asif Raza Merchant with alleged links to the Iranian government for seeking to carry out political assassinations in the United States, potentially targeting US government officials, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday (6th August). This case has led the US government to increase security for former President Donald Trump and other officials.
While the criminal complaint does not name Donald Trump explicitly, multiple sources have told reporters that one of the intended targets of the alleged plot was Trump.
According to the court document, a federal complaint unsealed in Brooklyn has charged Asif Merchant, also known as “Asif Raza Merchant,” a 46-year-old Pakistani national, with murder-for-hire in connection with a foiled assassination plot targeting a politician or US government officials on American soil. The accused Pakistani national has a wife and children in Pakistan and another wife and children in Iran. Asif Raza frequently travelled to Iran, Iraq and Syria.
The plot was thwarted by law enforcement before any attack could be executed. Merchant is currently in federal custody in New York, according to the press release released by the FBI.
“Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were undercover FBI Agents,” said Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis of the FBI New York Field Office. “This case underscores the dedication and formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York, Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats.”
“Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of US government officials on American soil,” said US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution demonstrates that this Office and the entire US Department of Justice will take swift and decisive action to protect our nation’s security, our government officials and our citizens from foreign threats.”
Merchant travelled to New York City and worked with a hit man to carry out the assassinations in late August or early September, federal prosecutors said in a court complaint. The complaint says the plot was intended to target high-ranking US officials, potentially including Trump.
FBI investigators believe that the intended targets included Trump and other current and former US government officials.
According to the court document, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate a politician or US government officials on US soil. In approximately April 2024, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme. This individual reported Merchant’s intentions to law enforcement and became a confidential source.
“On or about April 10, 2024, MERCHANT flew from Pakistan to Istanbul and then on to Houston, Texas on or about April 13, 2024, to recruit individuals to carry out his plot to assassinate U.S. government officials. Soon after arriving in the U.S., MERCHANT contacted the CS, under the guise of wanting to discuss potential business opportunities in the U.S. On or about April 22, 2024, MERCHANT traveled from Texas to New York to meet with the CS in person. MERCHANT told the CS that he and his uncle in Pakistan sold “yarn-dyed” clothing and suggested that the CS help MERCHANT sell the clothing in the U.S. MERCHANT instructed the CS to create a corporation in the U.S. which would enable them to do business together (“Corporation 1”),” the document reads.
In May this year, Asif Raza Merchant returned to Texas and dialled to the Confidential Source. Merchant offered him an opportunity to earn $100,000 in the “yarn-dyed” clothing business. The accused wanted to discuss the assassination plot with the CS in person.
In early June, during a meeting with the confidential source, Merchant outlined his assassination plot and suggested that this opportunity would not be a one-time event. He made a gesture resembling a gun while discussing the killing and specified that the targets would be “here,” referring to the United States.
“Those hurting Pakistan and the Muslim world would be killed”
Merchant’s plan included various criminal activities: stealing documents from a target’s residence, organizing protests, and ultimately assassinating a political figure or government official. He expressed concerns about security measures surrounding potential targets and discussed multiple scenarios for carrying out the assassination.
The Pakistani accused told the CS that “people who will be targeted are the ones who are hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world. These are not normal people.” He also expressed his affinity for Iran.
Merchant asked the CS to arrange a meeting with trustworthy people who could execute his plan. The accused asked CS to bring people who could do the killing, 25 people who would pose as protestors to cause distraction and a woman to do reconnaissance. He also sought an untraceable phone to secure communication with those involved in the assassination plot.
In a hotel room, Merchant used a napkin and certain objects to show a potential assassination plot, including the target, the crowd, the nearby buildings and streets. Merchant repeatedly asked CS about his strategy for assassinating the “target”.
Asif Raza Merchant assured payment to UCs through Hawala
In mid-June, Merchant met with individuals he believed were hitmen but were in reality, undercover FBI agents (UCs). During these meetings, he sought their services for theft and assassination and indicated that he would provide instructions on whom to kill after leaving the US. During the meeting, Merchant claimed to be a representative in the US suggesting that he worked for other people outside the US. Asif Raza Merchant also told the UCs that he would pay them via “hawala” in Istanbul and Dubai.
The codes for the Trump assassination plot
On 13th June 2024, Merchant met the Confidential Source again and wrote down certain code words for him and others involved in the plot to use for safe communication. The accused wrote that the word “tee-shirt” would mean a “protest,” which he described as the “lightest work.” The phrase “flannel shirt” would mean “stealing,” which was “heavier work.” The phrase “fleece jacket,” the heaviest work, would mean “the third task, commit the act of the game.”
Moreover, the accused Pakistani national instructed the Confidential Source to run a legitimate clothing business as they discussed earlier. He said that this would serve as a front for the plot so they could maintain communication. He also told the CS that the money being used for the assassination plot was Halal which means permissible in Islam.
Merchant arranged to pay USD 5,000 in cash as an advance for the assassination services and successfully delivered this payment on 21st June. Following this transaction, he made plans to leave the country on 12th July 2024, one day before Trump’s assassination attempt. However, law enforcement intervened and arrested him before he could depart.
Notably, it was earlier reported that the United States had received intelligence from a human source about an Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump weeks before the assassination attempt against the former US President leading to increased security measures for Trump. At that time, the officials said that there is no known connection between this Iranian plot and the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate Trump on 12th July.
