U.S. Charges IRGC Asset Farhad Shakeri and Two Accomplices in Multiple Assassination Plots

The U.S. Justice Department has unsealed charges against Farhad Shakeri, identified as an asset of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and two alleged accomplices, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt, in connection with multiple murder-for-hire plots. The charges, announced on November 8, 2024, detail alleged schemes targeting President-elect Donald Trump, an Iranian-American journalist, two Jewish American businessmen, and Israeli tourists. Shakeri, who is believed to be in Iran, faces charges including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, money laundering conspiracy, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, the IRGC allegedly tasked Shakeri with orchestrating these assassinations, leveraging a network of criminal associates he developed during a previous incarceration in the U.S. Federal prosecutors stated that Shakeri was specifically instructed on October 7, 2024, to devise a plan to assassinate Donald Trump within seven days. Shakeri, an Afghan national previously deported from the U.S. after a robbery conviction, reportedly told the FBI he did not intend to fulfill the plot within the given timeframe.

The alleged plots extended beyond President-elect Trump, encompassing an Iranian-American journalist and activist, Masih Alinejad, who has been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime. Additionally, Shakeri was reportedly offered $500,000 by an IRGC official to murder two Jewish American businessmen residing in New York City. The Department of Justice further revealed that Shakeri was tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, where authorities made arrests in October related to a planned mass shooting.

The Justice Department and FBI officials emphasized that these actions are part of Iran's ongoing efforts to avenge the 2020 killing of IRGC leader Qasem Soleimani and to silence dissidents globally. FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, "The charges announced today expose Iran's continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran." While Shakeri remains at large, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathon Loadholt have been apprehended in New York, facing similar charges with potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison.