DOJ arrests Iran-linked Pakistani in alleged foiled assassination plot

(The Center Square) – A Pakistani man who flew from Iran to the U.S. and began trying to recruit help to assassinate a U.S. leader has been arrested, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday

The man in question, Asif Raza Merchant, 46, is charged with “murder-for-hire as part of an alleged scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil.”

The arrest comes just weeks after former President Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The DOJ did not reveal who was Merchant's target, though they did say they suspect the plots are retaliation for the U.S. drone killing of Qasem Soleimani, an attack ordered by then-President Trump.

According to the DOJ and federal court filings, Merchant spent time in Pakistan and Iran before flying to the U.S., where he began as early as April of this year trying to recruit and pay someone to carry out the attempt.

Federal filings say Merchant explained his assassination plan to someone, but that person reported it to federal law enforcement. Law enforcement then began communicating with Merchant, and he even paid thousands of dollars in advance before the feds eventually arrested him on July 12, the day before the Pennsylvania assassination attempt against Trump.

FBI Director Christopher Wray called Merchant a “Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook.”

According to the DOJ, Merchant was attempting to hire someone to carry out an assassination and was working with someone “back home." Federal law enforcement said Merchant claimed to have wives and children in both Iran and Pakistan, and his travel records show repeated trips to Iran, Syria and Iraq.

From the DOJ:

In early June, Merchant met the [informant] in New York and explained his assassination plot. Merchant told the CS that the opportunity he had for the CS was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. Merchant then made a “finger gun” motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing. Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be “targeted here,” meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the [informant] to arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions. Merchant explained that his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; (2) planning a protest; and (3) killing a politician or government official.