US Charges Pakistani With Alleged Ties To Iran In Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Trump

The US Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man who has alleged ties to the Iranian government with seeking to assassinate U.S. government officials on American soil.

According to CNN, the suspect, Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of traveling to New York City and working with a hit man to carry out the assassinations in late August or early September, according to charges filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York.

Former President Donald Trump was one of the potential targets of the plot by Asif Merchant, who was arrested on July 12 in Texas before any attacks could be carried out.

<p data-uri=”cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clzip7wl000033b6k003ejsmi@published” data-editable=”text” data-component-name=”paragraph” data-article-gutter=”true” data-analytics-observe=”off”>Trump was nearly killed at a presidential campaign rally one day after Merchant’s arrest, when a would-be assassin on a nearby rooftop fired at the Republican nominee while he was speaking onstage.