US prosecutors have indicted individuals who allegedly participated in an Iranian-directed plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The scheme, attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was allegedly meant in retaliation for the 2020 US-ordered execution of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the Justice Department revealed on Friday, November 8.
The prime suspect, Farhad Shakeri, 51, who purportedly operates from Iran, was “tasked” by the IRGC on October 7 to design a plan attacking Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in this week’s presidential election. Shakeri, along with two other men, Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, both of whom live in New York, face accusations related to a second plot to assassinate a prominent Iranian-American dissident journalist.
FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed the charges, stating, “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.”
According to the Justice Department, Shakeri was previously linked with the IRGC and ran a criminal network in the United States. According to the Department, he was deported in 2008 after serving a 14-year jail sentence for robbery, but has recently used former criminal contacts to recruit operatives for IRGC surveillance and targeted executions. Loadholt and Rivera, reportedly under Shakeri’s orders, were spying on a US citizen of Iranian descent renowned for his outspoken criticism of the Iranian leadership.
The US has expressed alarm about Iran’s ongoing efforts to retaliate against US officials involved to the Soleimani operation. Earlier this year, a Pakistani man linked to Iranian networks pleaded not guilty in New York to allegations of hiring a hitman to target a United States official. Furthermore, the State Department recently announced a $20 million prize for information about an Iranian mastermind reportedly involved in a plot to assassinate former White House staffer John Bolton.
Rivera and Loadholt are still in US custody and appeared in a New York court on Thursday.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli