Iranian Revolutionary Guard asset charged in plot to assassinate Donald Trump; chilling details revealed
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Nov 9, 2024, 12:12 AM ISTThe Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment against 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri alleging he was tasked with 'providing a plan' to kill Trump. The US government said Shakeri has not been arrested and is believed to be in Iran.
In a shocking revelation, US authorities have charged an Iranian asset linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for his alleged role in a plan to assassinate Donald Trump before he was elected the next president.
The Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment against 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri alleging he was tasked with 'providing a plan' to kill Trump. The US government said Shakeri has not been arrested and is believed to be in Iran.
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According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan court, prosecutors allege that an official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard directed Shakeri in September to devise a plan to surveil and assassinate Trump.
78-year-old Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States earlier this week after defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Shakeri, who resides in Tehran, is a known asset of the IRGC, Iran's elite military and intelligence branch. He immigrated to the United States as a child but was deported around 2008 after serving a 14-year prison sentence for robbery. In recent months, Shakeri has relied on a network of criminal associates he met while incarcerated in the US to help the IRGC recruit operatives for surveillance and assassination missions targeting the regime's enemies. The IRGC has been designated by the US Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization since April 15, 2019.
Two of his accomplices, Carlisle Rivera, 49, from Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, from Staten Island, were arrested this week and face serious charges, including conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.
'Iran's brazen attempts to target Trump exposed'
“There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
“The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump. We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on US soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime. We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security," he added.
“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,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a designated foreign terrorist organization — has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on US soil and that simply won’t be tolerated. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, their deadly schemes were disrupted. We're committed to using the full resources of the FBI to protect our citizens from Iran or any other adversary who targets Americans," he added.
"Actors directed by the Government of Iran continue to target our citizens, including President-elect Trump, on US soil and abroad. This has to stop,” said US Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York.
“Today’s charges are another message to those who continue in their efforts – we will remain unrelenting in our pursuit of bad actors, no matter where they reside, and will stop at nothing to bring to justice those who harm our safety and security. I want to thank the career prosecutors of this office and our law enforcement partners for their ongoing work in this and related investigations. They are truly the best of the best and work tirelessly to keep our country safe," he added.
According to the complaint and related public filings, the Government of Iran is actively targeting US nationals and citizens of its allied countries around the world for attacks, including assaults, kidnappings, and murders.
These actions are part of Iran's strategy to silence dissidents critical of its regime and seek retribution for the January 2020 killing of General Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. The IRGC has openly declared its intention to avenge Soleimani’s death, and as part of its activities, it has planned and carried out operations targeting US citizens both within the United States and abroad.
Chilling details of assassination plot against Trump
The most chilling detail to emerge from the investigation is Shakeri’s involvement in a high-profile plot to kill Trump. "Shakeri has informed law enforcement that he was tasked on Oct. 7, 2024, with providing a plan to kill President-elect Donald J. Trump. During the interview, Shakeri claimed he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Trump within the timeframe set by the IRGC," the Justice Department's press release read.
Shakeri allegedly received explicit instructions from the IRGC to surveil two Jewish American citizens residing in New York City and offered $500,000 by an IRGC official for the murder of either victim. He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.
Chilling Details of the Plot Against US citizen of Iranian origin
Beyond the threat to Trump, the complaint also details the alleged sinister plot to assassinate Victim-1, a US citizen of Iranian origin and an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime. Shakeri allegedly provided his associates with detailed instructions on how to locate and kill the victim, promising a hefty payout of $100,000 for their efforts.
Over several months, Rivera and Loadholt surveilled the victim’s whereabouts, including photographing locations associated with her and monitoring her movements. In one instance, the pair traveled to Fairfield University to photograph the victim, who was scheduled to appear there.
In April this year, Shakeri is said to have sent Rivera a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill Victim-1. In one voice note, Shakeri allegedly told Rivera that Victim-1 spent most of her time in particular locations of her home, and purportedly told Rivera that “you just gotta have patience … You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it. Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.”
On several occasions over the last several months, consistent with this instruction from Shakeri, Rivera and/or Loadholt have allegedly surveilled a location in Brooklyn that they had identified as associated with Victim-1.
What are the charges and maximum punishment
Shakeri, Rivera, and Loadholt have been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, also punishable by up to 10 years in prison; and money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Additionally, Shakeri faces charges of conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries up to 20 years in prison; providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, also punishable by up to 20 years in prison; and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and US sanctions against Iran, which similarly carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine the sentence based on the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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