Federal prosecutors on Friday unveiled charges against an Afghan-born man accused of orchestrating an Iranian-directed assassination plot targeting President-elect Donald Trump. The indictment, unsealed in Manhattan, accuses Farhad Shakeri, 51, of planning the plot under the direction of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as part of a broader effort to target American officials on U.S. soil.
Shakeri, believed to reside in Iran, faces charges of murder-for-hire, conspiracy, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors allege he was tasked with surveilling and ultimately killing Trump during the final weeks of the presidential campaign. The IRGC allegedly instructed Shakeri in early October to develop an actionable plan to assassinate Trump within seven days. If Shakeri failed to meet the deadline, the plan was to be postponed until after the election, when Iranian officials believed it would be easier to strike, according to court documents.
"Today's charges are another message to those who continue in their efforts - we will remain unrelenting in our pursuit of bad actors, no matter where they reside," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. He emphasized that Iran's actions posed an ongoing threat to national security, vowing to hold perpetrators accountable.
The indictment also names two additional suspects: Brooklyn native Carlisle Rivera, 49, and Staten Islander Jonathan Loadholt, 36. Prosecutors claim Rivera and Loadholt were recruited by Shakeri to eliminate an Iranian American journalist critical of Tehran's regime, in addition to plotting against Trump. Rivera and Loadholt, who allegedly spent nine months pursuing the journalist, were arrested and ordered held pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis.
The charged assassination plot marks the latest in a string of alleged Iranian attempts to target Trump and other American officials. Iran has been considered a significant national security threat, particularly given its history of hostile actions against U.S. interests. "Actors directed by the Government of Iran continue to target our citizens, including President-elect Trump, on U.S. soil and abroad," Williams said.
Prosecutors say the IRGC was prepared to fund Shakeri's efforts despite the anticipated high costs. In a conversation intercepted by U.S. authorities, Shakeri reportedly conveyed to an IRGC contact that the assassination plot would be expensive. "We have already spent a lot of money," the Iranian official allegedly replied, indicating that finances were not a concern.
Shakeri, who was deported from the U.S. in 2008 after serving a prison term for robbery, met Rivera and Loadholt while incarcerated. He allegedly used these connections to build a network to carry out the IRGC's directives. The indictment describes chilling details of Rivera and Loadholt's pursuit of the Iranian American journalist, whom they allegedly referred to with derogatory language as they struggled to locate her.
The trio's other targets reportedly included two Jewish businesspeople in New York City, whom Shakeri said the IRGC had identified based on their public support for Israel. The plot extended to plans for a mass shooting targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, prompting U.S. and Israeli officials to issue a travel warning for the region.
