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BROOKLYN (CN) — A Pakistani man who was arrested in July for scheming to assassinate U.S. politicians on American soil faces additional accusations of committing an act of terrorism, according to new charges filed in the Eastern District of New York.
Asif Merchant, 46, was indicted on an additional charge of terrorism for trying to hire hitmen to carry out an assassination plot on U.S. government officials. Previously, Merchant was only charged for one count that accused the Pakistani national of murder-for-hire.
According to federal prosecutors, undercover law enforcement foiled the scheme before any attack could be carried out.
Prosecutors say Merchant arrived in the United States in April after spending some time in Iran. While in New York, Merchant met with purported hitmen who were undercover law enforcement officers.
According to court documents filed Tuesday evening, Merchant asked the hitmen to steal documents, arrange protests at political rallies and kill a “political person.”
Merchant also paid the undercover officers a $5,000 cash advance for agreeing to the assassination plot.
“Now we know we’re going forward,” one of the officers posing as a hitman said to Merchant, according to court filings. “We’re doing this.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Merchant responded.
Neither the original complaint nor the indictment named Merchant’s intended targets.
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian regime’s playbook,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a serious threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI.”
Court filings provide scarce details as to Merchant’s ties with Iran. In the initial complaint, prosecutors mention Merchant has a wife and children in Pakistan along with a wife and children in Iran. Prosecutors also indicate he frequently travels to Iran, Syria and Iraq.
Prosecutors say they became aware of Merchant’s assassination plot after he arrived in the U.S. and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme. The unnamed individual informed U.S. law enforcement and, according to prosecutors, kept the FBI informed of Merchant’s actions related to the scheme.
As a result of the additional terrorism charge, prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of Merchant’s computer, phones and approximately $6,0000 seized by law enforcement.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “As these terrorism and murder-for-hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans.”
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