North News
New Delhi, November 9
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges over an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, thwarted by the FBI, officials said. The case, revealed just before the upcoming presidential election, stems from a murder-for-hire plan targeting Trump, who recently defeated Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, the news outlet The Guardian reported.
A federal complaint in Manhattan alleges that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards official directed an operative in September to formulate a plan involving surveillance and the eventual assassination of Trump. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated the Justice Department charged an Iranian asset with orchestrating a criminal network to execute Iran’s objectives, including plots against Trump, according to the news outlet BBC.
Additional charges were filed against two men allegedly recruited to kill an American journalist critical of Iran. Identified as Carlisle Rivera, 49, from Brooklyn, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, from Staten Island, both suspects appeared in New York’s Southern District Court on Thursday and are in custody pending trial.
Trump has faced two alleged assassination attempts this year. In one July incident, a gunman reportedly grazed his ear with a shot during a rally in Pennsylvania, the news outlet said.
