Pakistani Man Convicted of Plot to Kill US Politicians in 2024

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By Patricia Hurtado

March 6, 2026 at 11:39 PM UTC

A Pakistani man was convicted in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, of a 2024 plot to kill US politicians, including Donald Trump.

Federal prosecutors had accused Asif Merchant, 47, of being an “operative” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was dispatched by the regime to the US in April 2024 to hire hitmen to kill American politicians. He was arrested in Texas in July of that year.