Federal law enforcement officials announced on Tuesday that they have arrested a Pakistan national with ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran for allegedly leading a serious plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
Authorities arrested 46-year-old Asif Raza Merchant in New York on July 12, the day before 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate a politician or U.S. government officials on U.S. soil,” the DOJ said. “In approximately April 2024, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme.”
The person whom he contacted immediately contacted law enforcement and became a confidential source (the CS), assisting law enforcement in their investigation.
Merchant told the CS in June that…
