November 8th 2024.
As the 2024 presidential election approached, President-elect Donald Trump found himself targeted by multiple assassination plots. The most recent attempt, orchestrated by the Iranian government, was foiled by the FBI. According to the US government, a manhunt is currently underway for Farhad Shakeri, the suspected mastermind behind the plot.
In New York, two men named Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt were apprehended in connection with the plan. However, the third suspect, Shakeri, is believed to have fled to Tehran, the capital of Iran. The three men were charged with conspiring to assassinate Trump before the election, where he would have faced off against vice president Kamala Harris.
The Justice Department revealed that Shakeri was a member of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and had been living in the US. He allegedly informed law enforcement that he had been tasked with killing Trump on October 7, 2024. However, he claimed that he had no intention of carrying out the assassination within the timeline given by the IRGC.
Shakeri, who had immigrated to the US as a child, was previously deported in 2008 after being convicted of robbery. It was during his time in prison that he met Rivera and Loadholt and hired them to target an Iranian American activist living in Brooklyn. The IRGC had also given Shakeri other orders to assassinate US and Israeli citizens on American soil, including Trump.
The target of the assassination plot was not named in the criminal charges, but officials confirmed that it was likely Masih Alinejad, a journalist and activist who had spoken out against Iran's laws requiring women to cover their heads. In the past, four Iranians had been charged with attempting to kidnap Alinejad, and in 2022, a man was arrested with a rifle outside her home.
The news of the foiled assassination plot came to light just days after the presidential election, shedding light on the ongoing efforts of Iran to target US government officials, including Trump, on American soil. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, "There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran."
Garland continued, "The Justice Department has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran's assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump. We have also charged and arrested two individuals who we allege were recruited as part of that network to silence and kill, on US soil, an American journalist who has been a prominent critic of the regime."
In response to the attempted assassination and ongoing threats from Iran, Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk held a rally at the site where Trump had previously survived an assassination attempt. With the suspects in custody, the American people can rest assured that justice will be served, and the safety of government officials and citizens will be protected. Both Rivera and Loadholt are currently being held as they await trial.
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