Charges filed against man who allegedly tried to assassinate Trump in Pennsylvania – ThePrint – ANIFeed

Washington DC (US), November 9 (ANI): The US Department of Justice on Friday (local time) charged a man who was allegedly tasked by Iran to assassinate US President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign. in question.

“There are few actors in the world who pose as serious a threat to the national security of the United States as Iran,” said Attorney General Merrick B Garland.

Garland said the Justice Department “indicted an operative of the Iranian regime who was tasked with directing a network of accomplices to further assassination plans against Iran’s targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.”

The alleged assassination attempt revealed a broader scope in which New York City residents Carlisel Rivera, 49, and Jonathon Lodholt, 36, along with Shakeri, planned to kill a US-based journalist who was openly critical of Iran.

While Shakeri resided in Iran, Rivera and Lodholt followed the journalist for months and provided him with information.

“The charges announced today reveal Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents critical of the regime in Tehran,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“Actors directed by the Iranian Government, including President-elect Trump, continue to target our citizens on US soil and abroad. This needs to end,” said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

According to the statement, Iran is targeting the USA and its allies in order to avenge the death of then-Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force (IRGC-QF) Commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone attack. In Baghdad in January 2020.

Shakeri is an IRGC member who immigrated to the United States as a child and was deported in 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for theft. The statement said Shakeri used a network of accomplices he met in prison in the United States in recent months to provide agents to the Revolutionary Guard to spy on and assassinate Revolutionary Guard targets.

Ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was disrupted by a reported gunshot incident, CBS News reported. Following the incident, Trump was immediately removed from the stage by US Secret Service agents. (MOMENT)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint assumes no responsibility for its content.