A Pakistani man has been indicted on terrorism charges after he allegedly plotted to kill a prominent U.S. politician, according to court documents.
Asif Merchant, 46, is charged with attempted transnational terrorism and contract murder, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
A Pakistani native with family in Iran, he said the targets of the thwarted plot were U.S. politicians and government officials, possibly former President Donald Trump.
Tuesday's court documents also detailed the seizure of some of Merchant's possessions, including three cell phones – two Androids and an iPhone, a laptop and thousands of dollars in cash.
A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged with thwarting a possible assassination plot against President Trump, the Justice Department announced.
Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of plotting to assassinate a politician in the U.S. Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that Merchant was allowed into the U.S. on immigration parole. (Ministry of Justice)
Marchan's plan included two hit men, 25 actors to cause further unrest by staging fake protests before and after the murder, and a woman to act as “scout”.
Prosecutors allege that he hired two undercover FBI agents rather than assassins, but it is unclear how far he went in recruiting other plotters.
Trump assassination attempt: FBI contracts with Israeli firm to help perpetrator decipher codes, sources say
Merchant, 46, Stealing documents And a USB drive. But the man he thought was his main accomplice called the authorities, who introduced him to two undercover cops posing as hitmen.
Asif Merchant, 46, is pictured here during a meeting with intelligence sources. (Ministry of Justice)
Merchant traveled first to Iran and then to the United States, where he contacted a confidential source referred to in FBI documents as “CS.”
Iran threat raises questions about Trump shooter's undecoded code
According to the Justice Department, Merchant, who pressured CS to set up a yarn-dyed clothing business as a front for contacting him, also used the clothing as a code word.
The money shown is $5,000 that Merchant allegedly gave to two undercover FBI agents he thought were hit men, according to prosecutors. (Ministry of Justice)
In yarn-dyed fabrics, individual threads are colored before the fabric is woven together, and merchants would allegedly use the weight of the fabric as a code for different parts of their crimes.
Click here to get the FOX News app
According to court documents, the T-shirt represented the “lightest job” – a fake protest; the slightly thicker flannel shirt represented theft of documents; and the fleece jacket represented the “heaviest job” – murder.
Investigators said Tuesday that Marchant's potential targets included people “on both sides of the political spectrum.”
According to court documents, the actors were supposed to stage a protest at a political rally, but Merchant allegedly asked CS to walk him through various scenarios in which the target would die. The hitmen were scheduled to be informed of their official targets in late August or the first week of September.
Fox News' Michael Lewis contributed to this report.
