Who is Asif Merchant, Pakistani man arrested in alleged plot to kill Donald Trump?
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with purported links to iran, was detained last month on suspicion of planning to assassinate a politician or US government figure on US grounds. Asif Merchant considered former President donald trump to be among those people, a source with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg.
Nevertheless, a second source informed the news agency that there is no proof Asif Merchant's scheme was related to the attempted assassination of donald trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month. In retribution for the US assassination of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, the US Justice Department claims that Asif Merchant, 46, attempted to hire a hitman to kill a politician or a US government figure in the US.
"This hazardous murder-for-hire scheme, which is from out of the Iranian playbook, was reportedly planned by a Pakistani person who has deep links to iran and was revealed in today's lawsuit."Our national security is at risk from a foreign-directed plot to kill a public figure or any US citizen," FBI director Christopher Wray stated in a statement.
Who is Asif Merchant?
• court records indicate that Asif Merchant is a citizen of Pakistan. According to media accounts, he was born in Karachi somewhere around 1978.
• According to the FBI, Asif Merchant has two families: one in pakistan and one in iran with a wife and kids.
• Asif Merchant travelled to iran, Syria, and iraq on a regular basis, according to his travel records, according to the US Justice Department.
• The FBI claims that when Asif Merchant travelled to the US from pakistan in april 2024, he got in touch with someone he thought may help him with his intentions to kill people.
• According to the FBI, Asif Merchant has two families: one in pakistan and one in iran with a wife and kids.
• Asif Merchant travelled to iran, Syria, and iraq on a regular basis, according to his travel records, according to the US Justice Department.
• The FBI claims that when Asif Merchant travelled to the US from pakistan in april 2024, he got in touch with someone he thought may help him with his intentions to kill people.