The United States has charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot orchestrated by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, the Justice Department announced on Friday.
According to the department, 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri was tasked on October 7, 2024, with developing a plan to kill Trump. However, Shakeri reportedly told law enforcement that he had not yet formulated such a plan within the IRGC’s timeline. Shakeri, an IRGC asset, is believed to be residing in Tehran and remains at large. He had immigrated to the US as a child but was deported in 2008 following a robbery conviction.
Additionally, two New York residents, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt, have been charged for allegedly assisting Shakeri in a separate plot to kill a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York. The victim, described as an outspoken critic of Iran’s government, had been previously targeted for assassination. While prosecutors did not directly identify the individual, the description matched that of journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, who has been a vocal critic of Iran’s policies, including its laws on women’s head coverings.
Rivera and Loadholt, both of whom had met Shakeri in prison, have been detained pending trial. Their attorneys have not yet responded to requests for comment.
