The United States Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man, allegedly having ties to the Iranian government, with seeking to carry out political assassinations, reports CNN. According to court documents that unsealed on Tuesday, the case has prompted the US government to increase security for former President Donald Trump and others.
A US official briefed on the matter said the FBI believes that Donald Trump and other US government officials, both current and former, were the potential targets of the assassination plot. As per the Federal prosecutor, the man identified as Asif Merchant (46) is accused of travelling to New York City and orchestrating an assassination plot with a hit man, to be carried out in late August or early September.
Accused arrested in July
The prosecutor said that on July 12, Asif was preparing to leave the US shortly after he met with purported hit men, who he believed would carry the murders, but were undercover law enforcement officers. He was arrested and currently was in federal custody. The court documents reveal that Asif said he wanted to target individuals in the US who are “hurting Pakistan and the world (Islamic world)”, adding that “these are not just normal people.”
The FBI believes it foiled Asif's plot before any attack but considering Iran's known threat against Trump, US Secret Services were provided intelligence, which increased security protection for the former president, officials have said. After he arrived in the US, Asif contacted someone who he believed would assist him in the murder-for-hire plot. However, the person contacted the FBI and began working as a confidential source for the agency.
The alleged plot
In early June. Asif met with the confidential FBI source and said that he wanted to hire people in New York to do three things: steal documents or USB drives from one victim’s home, plan protests at political rallies and carry out assassinations. Asif allegedly told the confidential FBI source that the work was not a one-time opportunity making a “finger gun” motion with his hand.
He also spoke of a party back home with whom he was working. According to the prosecutor, Asif met with undercover officers as hit men, in late June and said he wanted them to kill a “political person in late August or early September.” He allegedly arranged to pay them a $5,000 advance on the assassination.
As he wanted to leave the US, he allegedly told the hit men to communicate about their plans in code, saying, “the word ‘tee-shirt’ would mean a ‘protest’ (because it was the ‘lightest’ job), the phrase ‘flannel shirt’ would mean ‘stealing,’ because it was ‘heavier work,’ and the phrase ‘fleece jacket,’ would mean ‘the third task … commit the act of the game.’ The prosecutors believe that ” the third part of his plan were the assassinations." Asif planned to leave the country before the assassination but was arrested before he could go.
(With agencies' input)
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