By Steve Neavling
A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged with plotting to carry out political assassinations of U.S. politicians and officials.
The Justice Department on Tuesday disclosed the case against Asif Merchant, who allegedly traveled to New York in June to meet with men he thought he was recruiting to carry out the killings, The New York Times reports.
At one point, he paid a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who turned out to be undercover law enforcement officials, federal officials said.
Merchant, 46, was arrested in New York on July 12, one day before Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Officials said there’s no evidence that the pair is linked.
Merchant “orchestrated a plot to assassinate U.S. government officials and steal information on U.S. soil,” prosecutors wrote in documents unsealed Tuesday.
“After spending time in Iran, Merchant flew from Pakistan to the U.S. to recruit hit men to carry out his scheme,” they said.
An FBI agent said in an affidavit that “the tradecraft and operational security measures” employed by Merchant were consistent with the actions of someone “plotting on behalf of a foreign adversary.”
Before his arrest, the FBI had been investigating Marchant for weeks.
In June, Merchant revealed a scheme that included targeted assassinations of people “who are hurting Pakistan” and the “Muslim world,” an informant alleged.
Merchant offered to pay an informant up to $100,000 to carry out an assassination.
