Asif Merchant was ordered detained pending trial.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Sept. 13, 2024.A Pakistani national with ties to Iran pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging he attempted to commit an act of terrorism and murder-for-hire as part of aThe suspect, Asif Merchant, was ordered detained pending trial during the hearing in Brooklyn federal court.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Sept. 13, 2024.Coincidentally, Merchant's arraignment came the same day a different man -- 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh -- appeared in a Florida court to answerMerchant was indicted on federal charges in August, after being previously arrested and charged by complaint the month prior.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran's efforts to target our country's public officials and endanger our national security," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement following the indictment. "As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran's lethal plotting against Americans.
Merchant sought to hire hitmen who could carry out the assassination of Trump and others, the indictment alleged. Merchant allegedly explained his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: stealing documents or USB drives from a target's home; planning a protest; and killing a politician or government official, the indictment alleged.Merchant met with the purported hitmen -- who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers -- in New York, according to the indictment.
After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the "hitmen," the indictment quoted one of them saying, "Now we're bonded," to which Merchant allegedly responded, "Yes." The undercover officer then stated, "Now we know we're going forward. We're doing this," to which Merchant allegedly responded, "Yes, absolutely," according to the indictment.
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