The Justice Department on Friday revealed an alleged Iranian plot to kill President-elect Trump during his campaign this fall.
A newly unsealed criminal complaint reveals that Farhad Shakeri, 51, who is charged with murder-for-hire, allegedly told FBI agents an Iranian official tasked him in September with assassinating Trump.
Shakeri previously plotted with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to kill other U.S. citizens but was told by the official to put aside those efforts to focus on the former president, according to the complaint.
“The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a designated foreign terrorist organization — has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on U.S. soil and that simply won’t be tolerated.”
Trump experienced two attempts on his life during his presidential campaign. In July, he was shot in the ear by a gunman at a Butler, Pa., rally, and another individual months later showed up on the edge of Trump’s West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course with a firearm.
No evidence has come to light to suggest either individual was part of a broader conspiracy, but federal officials have warned Trump that Iran is attempting to assassinate him.
The complaint also alleges the Iranian official told Shakeri “the money’s not an issue” in attempting to assassinate Trump. If Shakeri was unable to propose a plan, he allegedly told the FBI Iran was planning to wait until after the election when “it would be easier” to kill Trump under an assumption he would lose the election.
Shakeri and two other individuals — Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadhold, 36 — face charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and money laundering conspiracy. Rivera and Loadhold were allegedly involved in a separate Iranian plot to kill another U.S. citizen.
Both Rivera and Loadhold are residents of New York City and are being detained, while prosecutors said Shakeri remains at large and is believed to live in Iran.
