Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
ABC News
Suspect pleads not guilty in alleged murder-for-hire plot against Trump
By Aaron Katersky,
5 hours ago
A Pakistani national with ties to Iran pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging he attempted to commit an act of terrorism and murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The suspect, Asif Merchant, was ordered detained pending trial during the hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Coincidentally, Merchant's arraignment came the same day a different man -- 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh -- appeared in a Florida court to answer firearm charges connected to an unrelated apparent alleged attempt on Trump's life.
Merchant was indicted on federal charges in August, after being previously arrested and charged by complaint the month prior. If convicted of the charges contained in the indictment, he faces up to life in prison
ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran's efforts to target our country's public officials and endanger our national security," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement following the indictment. "As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran's lethal plotting against Americans."
After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan in April and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill Trump, the complaint alleged. That person reported Merchant's conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source, according to the indictment.
Merchant sought to hire hitmen who could carry out the assassination of Trump and others, the indictment alleged. Merchant allegedly explained his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: stealing documents or USB drives from a target's home; planning a protest; and killing a politician or government official, the indictment alleged.
Merchant met with the purported hitmen -- who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers -- in New York, according to the indictment. He allegedly told them they would receive instructions on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant had departed the U.S., according to the indictment.
After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the "hitmen," the indictment quoted one of them saying, "Now we're bonded," to which Merchant allegedly responded, "Yes." The undercover officer then stated, "Now we know we're going forward. We're doing this," to which Merchant allegedly responded, "Yes, absolutely," according to the indictment.
Try another one loser Trump your nothing but a dump piece of shit liar , what a loser and I mean the biggest loser that ever ran for presidency and the worst one that we ever had you have lost Americans many jobs now Biden and Harris had to get them all back for all Americans
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.