Farhad Shakeri, an operative working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was tasked with surveilling and assassinating President-elect Donald Trump in September, according to court records. Prosecutors revealed that IRGC officials directed Shakeri to delay the plot until after the election because they believed Trump would lose. Shakeri, along with two individuals living in the U.S., Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, were charged as part of a broader Iran-backed scheme to surveille and assassinate individuals who opposed the Iranian regime.
Shakeri, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child from Iran, was deported in 2008 after serving time in prison on robbery charges. The FBI alleged that the IRGC used Shakeri to recruit criminal contacts to carry out operations targeting individuals who spoke out against the Iranian regime. Shakeri paid Rivera and Loadholt to monitor an Iranian American journalist and activist in New York, leading to surveillance operations continuing into March, where the pair allegedly traveled multiple times to the activist’s home. Text messages and security camera footage revealed their activities.
In April, Shakeri agreed to pay Rivera and Loadholt $100,000 to “finish the work” of assassinating the activist, as instructed by the IRGC. By July, the Iranians were growing impatient and told their U.S. assets to “take care of it already.” The plan to kill the activist did not succeed, and Rivera and Loadholt were not involved in the plot to target Trump. Shakeri remains at large, and Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger Americans and U.S. national security.
Shakeri participated in voluntary telephonic interviews with FBI agents between September and November, providing information on the IRGC’s desire to kill the Iranian American activist and target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka. He also mentioned surveilling two Jewish American citizens in New York. FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that the IRGC’s actions on U.S. soil would not be tolerated. The charges and allegations against Shakeri are part of the U.S. government’s efforts to address Iran’s attempts to target dissidents and U.S. government figures.
The Justice Department has brought charges against various defendants for acting on behalf of Iran by targeting outspoken dissidents in the U.S. Following the killing of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani by American forces in 2020, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement have increased their efforts to address Iran’s alleged activities on U.S. soil. Trump and his administration have had to enhance their security in response to these threats. Attorneys for Rivera and Loadholt were not identified, and the broader implications of Iran’s actions on U.S. soil continue to be a significant concern for U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
