The U.S. Secret Service has suspended four agents linked to two men accused of impersonating federal law enforcement officers who authorities said gave gifts worth thousands of dollars to agency personnel including one assigned to protect President Joe Biden's wife.
The two Washington men, Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, appeared in federal court on Thursday a day after being arrested. Prosecutors said they plan to charge them with conspiracy in a scheme in which they are accused of posing as U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents.
In an interview with Reuters at a house in northern Virginia, Ali's mother, Zahida, said she was confused when she heard news reports of her son allegedly lying about being a police officer. She said she knew he wasn't a cop. Rothstein said the FBI uncovered evidence after searching several apartments tied to the defendants including a loaded Glock pistol, ammunition, components from disassembled guns and sniper equipment.
"Taherzadeh and Ali required that the 'applicant' be shot with an Airsoft rifle to evaluate their pain tolerance and reaction," an FBI agent wrote in a sworn statement. "Subsequent to being shot, the applicant was informed that their hiring was in process. The applicant was also assigned to conduct research on an individual that provided support to the Department of Defense and intelligence community.
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