US announces charges in alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump

US prosecutors have charged individuals allegedly involved in an Iranian-directed plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The plot, attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was purportedly intended as retaliation for the 2020 US-ordered killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the Justice Department announced on Friday, November 8.

The lead suspect, Farhad Shakeri, 51, reportedly operating from Iran, was “tasked” by the IRGC on October 7 to devise a plan targeting 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 residing in New York, face charges connected to a separate plot aimed at killing 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 has previously been affiliated with the IRGC and had established a criminal network in the US. The Department noted that he had been deported in 2008 after a 14-year prison term for robbery, but recently leveraged former criminal contacts to recruit operatives for surveillance and targeted killings on behalf of the IRGC. Loadholt and Rivera, allegedly under Shakeri’s instruction, had been conducting surveillance on a US citizen of Iranian origin known for outspoken criticism of the Iranian regime.

The US has raised concerns over Iran’s ongoing efforts to retaliate against US officials linked to the Soleimani operation. Earlier this year, a Pakistani man connected to Iranian networks pleaded not guilty in New York to charges of hiring a hitman to target a US official. Additionally, the State Department recently offered a $20 million reward for information regarding an Iranian mastermind allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate former White House official John Bolton.

As investigations continue, Rivera and Loadholt are currently in US custody and appeared in a New York court on Thursday.