Sunday, November 10, 2024 - US prosecutors have charged individuals allegedly involved in an Iranian-directed plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The plot, attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was purportedly intended as retaliation for the 2020 US-ordered killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the Justice Department announced on Friday, November 8.
The lead suspect, Farhad Shakeri, 51, reportedly operating
from Iran, was “tasked” by the IRGC on October 7 to devise a plan targeting
Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in this week's presidential
election. Shakeri, along with two other men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon
Loadholt, 36, both residing in New York, face charges connected to a separate
plot aimed at killing a prominent Iranian-American dissident journalist.
FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed the charges,
stating, “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts
to target US citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government
leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran.”
According to the Justice Department, Shakeri has previously
been affiliated with the IRGC and had established a criminal network in the US.
The Department noted that he had been deported in 2008 after a 14-year prison
term for robbery, but recently leveraged former criminal contacts to recruit
operatives for surveillance and targeted killings on behalf of the IRGC.
Loadholt and Rivera, allegedly under Shakeri’s instruction, had been conducting
surveillance on a US citizen of Iranian origin known for outspoken criticism of
the Iranian regime.
The US has raised concerns over Iran’s ongoing efforts to
retaliate against US officials linked to the Soleimani operation. Earlier this
year, a Pakistani man connected to Iranian networks pleaded not guilty in New
York to charges of hiring a hitman to target a US official. Additionally, the
State Department recently offered a $20 million reward for information
regarding an Iranian mastermind allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate
former White House official John Bolton.
As investigations continue, Rivera and Loadholt are
currently in US custody and appeared in a New York court on Thursday.
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