A man was arrested last month for allegedly planning murders-for-hire against U.S. politicians or officials, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, is accused of getting in touch with someone to facilitate a murder plot after coming to the U.S. from Pakistan in April. That person told law enforcement of Merchant’s plans and began working as a confidential source.
Merchant, 46, allegedly told the confidential source in June that he had an “opportunity” for him and made a finger gun motion. Merchant asked the confidential source to arrange meetings with people whom he could hire to carry out the killings, the Justice Department said.
In subsequent meetings, Merchant allegedly asked potential co-conspirators, who were undercover officers, what methods they would use to commit a murder, and said he would coordinate the assassinations from outside the U.S. using code words. He also asked them to steal documents and organize protests before the planned murders, the Justice Department said.
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s complaint allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI.”
Merchant allegedly paid the undercover officers $5,000 as an advance to execute his plan and arranged to leave the country July 12. However, he was arrested by the FBI that day.
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