A Pakistani national with suspected close ties to Iran pleaded not guilty on Monday to a charge of plotting to assassinate a US politician inside the United States.
Asif Merchant, also known as “Asif Raza Merchant,” pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court in New York on Monday.
He was indicted on September 10 on charges of attempted cross-border terrorism and soliciting murder as part of a plot to assassinate politicians and senior U.S. government officials on U.S. soil.
Marchant is accused of paying undercover agents to carry out the assassination plot. The indictment does not name any targets, but Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has suggested that Trump, Biden and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are possible targets.
Trump assassin suspect laughs and smiles at first court appearance in Florida
Asif Merchant, 46, was charged with plotting to assassinate a US politician. (Ministry of Justice)
Merchant's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 6. Merchant has been in federal custody since July and was arrested by the FBI while attempting to leave the country.
Marchant, wearing an orange shirt underneath a brown jumpsuit and looking solemn and serious, sat between his lawyers and an interpreter during Monday's hearing, Fox News reported.
Before the hearing, Merchant's lawyer, Abraham Moskowitz, told reporters outside the courthouse that his client intends to plead not guilty and that no bail would be set Monday.
The judge asked Merchant if he had read the grand jury indictment, if he had discussed it with his lawyers, and if he had translated it all into Urdu. Merchant answered “yes” to all of these questions.
Moskowitz told the judge that Merchant speaks English and could communicate, but an interpreter was present “just to be on the safe side” to ensure he didn't miss anything.
His lawyer told the judge that Merchant had entered a not guilty plea before raising concerns about his living conditions at the MDC Metropolitan Detention Centre within the Special Administrative Measures Unit. He said he was confined to a small, windowless room most of the time and was not receiving proper halal food, as required for Shiite Muslims, causing him to lose 15 to 20 pounds.
Moskowitz said three times that the conditions were “torture for me.” The government later said it had no knowledge of the problems.
In announcing the indictment last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department “will not tolerate Iran's attempts to target our public officials and endanger our national security,” and that, as the terrorism and solicitation of murder charges against Marchant demonstrate, “we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to carry out Iran's deadly plots against Americans.”
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly orchestrated by Pakistani actors with close ties to Iran and is squarely in the Iranian regime's playbook,” FBI Director Chris Wray added. “Foreign-sponsored plots to assassinate public officials and American citizens pose a serious threat to our national security and the FBI will respond with the full force and resources of the FBI. Protecting the American people from terrorists is our top priority.”
According to court documents, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan around April and made contact with an individual who could help him in planning to kill politicians and government officials, who then reported Merchant's actions to law enforcement and became a confidential source.
In early June, Merchant met with intelligence sources in New York to brief them on the assassination plot, he reportedly told them this would not be a one-time event, but an ongoing effort.
Merchant then made a “finger gun” gesture with his hand to indicate the opportunity was related to murder, court documents state. Merchant further stated that the targeted victim was “here,” meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the informant to arrange a meeting with an individual who could be hired to carry out these actions.
Asif Merchant, 46, is pictured here during a meeting with intelligence sources. (Ministry of Justice)
Pakistani man arrested on terrorism charges over attempted assassination of US politician
At that meeting, according to court documents, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios, questioning the source about how he would kill the target in various scenarios.
Prosecutors allege that Merchant stated the assassination would be carried out after he left the United States and that he would use a code word to communicate with sources overseas. The source asked Merchant if he had spoken to the unidentified “parties” he was working with back home. Merchant responded that he had, and that the parties back home had told him to “finalize” the plan and leave the United States.
According to court documents, Merchant met with the alleged hit men, who were actually undercover US police officers, in New York in mid-June. Merchant told the undercover officers he wanted three services from them: stealing documents, arranging protests at political rallies, and assassinating “political figures.”
Merchant allegedly stated that after he left the United States, sometime in the last week of August or the first week of September, his hit men would receive instructions on who to kill.
According to prosecutors, Merchant then began arranging for $5,000 in cash to be paid to undercover agents as an advance for the assassination, eventually receiving the money with the assistance of individuals overseas. On June 21, Merchant met with undercover agents in New York and paid the $5,000 advance. After paying the $5,000 to the undercover agents whom Merchant believed were the hitmen, one of the undercover agents said, “Now we're united,” to which Merchant replied, “Yes.” The agent then said, “Now we know we can move forward. We're going to do this,” to which Merchant replied, “Yes, of course.”
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)
Merchant then booked a flight to leave the United States on July 12, but law enforcement officials arrested him that day before he could depart.
President Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Police shot and killed the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
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Authorities said Sunday that a second suspected assassination attempt had taken place at the former president's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The suspect is Ryan Wesley Routhmade his first court appearance on Monday.
Fox News' Sandy Ibrahim and Eric Schoen contributed to this report.
