Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Terrorism and Murder-for-Hire Plot in U.S., Mentioned Trump as Potential Target

Asif Merchant, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit terrorism across national boundaries and one count of murder for hire during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn. Merchant had traveled to the U.S. from Iran with plans to recruit individuals for a plot that involved stealing documents from a target and organizing protests in the U.S.

Though Donald Trump was mentioned as a potential target, the scheme was not intended as an assassination plot against the former president, according to an anonymous source. Court documents did not specify the intended targets, and no attacks were carried out. Trump’s authorization of a drone strike on Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2020 may have been a factor in Merchant’s plans.

Merchant was not linked to a recent apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course or a separate shooting incident at a Pennsylvania rally in July. During the hearing, Merchant’s defense attorney, Avraham Moskowitz, raised concerns about his client’s jail conditions, stating that Merchant had lost 15 to 20 pounds due to the facility’s failure to provide a halal diet.