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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