The Department of Justice announced that it has thwarted an Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump in the run-up to the election.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed senior official in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards Corps directed associates to surveil and ultimately put together a plan to kill President Trump. .
President-elect Donald Trump arrives to address an election night event in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“Few forces in the world pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as Iran,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The Department of Justice has indicted an Iranian regime official tasked with directing a network of criminal associates to facilitate assassination plots against Iranian targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.
“We also indicted and arrested two individuals who we say were recruited as part of a network to silence and kill American journalists who are prominent critics of the regime on U.S. soil,” Garland added. Ta. “We do not support the Iranian regime's efforts to endanger the American people and our national security.”
The Justice Department said Shakeri is still a fugitive and is believed to be living in Iran, where he immigrated to the United States as a child and was deported around 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction. said.
“Mr. Shakeri informed law enforcement that he was tasked with providing a plan to kill President-elect Donald J. Trump on October 7, 2024. During the interview, Mr. “The deadline was set by the IRGC,” he added. “He also said he was tasked with monitoring two Jewish Americans living in New York City and was offered $500,000 by Revolutionary Guards personnel for the murder of either victim. He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.
Federal prosecutors also charged and arrested Carlyle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, New York. and Jonathan Rodholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York, “in connection with his alleged involvement in a plot to kill Iranian-Americans in New York.”
“At the direction of Shakeri, Lordholt and Rivera have spent months monitoring an Iranian-American resident in the United States (Victim-1), who is an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime. “He has been the target of multiple conspiracies: kidnappings and/or murders directed by the Iranian government,” the Justice Department said. “In exchange for Shaqueri's promise of $100,000, Rivera and Rodholt repeatedly attempted to locate Murder Victim 1.”
Prosecutors said that during the effort to find and kill Victim-1, “Shaqueri, Rodholt, and Rivera shared messages about their progress and photos related to their plans.”
“For example, around February 2024, Rivera and Lordholt sent messages about payments from Shaqueri, then went to Fairfield University, where Victim 1 was scheduled to appear, and took photos on campus,” the Justice Department said. states. “In one audio memo, Chaqueri told Rivera that Victim-1 spends most of her time in a certain area of her home, saying, 'You just have to be patient… to catch her entering the house. You have to be patient and wait. Or you can come out and follow her somewhere and take care of her, or don't even think about going in.''
All three suspects are currently charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.
“Shakeri is also charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization (up to 20 years in prison); conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; “The sanctions against the government carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison,” the Justice Department said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
