NEW YORK — Federal authorities have charged an Iranian operative and two associates in a murder-for-hire plot aimed at silencing a prominent Iranian-American critic of the Iranian regime and targeting President-elect Donald J. Trump. Farhad Shakeri, described by prosecutors as an asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), allegedly employed criminal associates in New York to carry out surveillance and attempt to assassinate a U.S. citizen critical of Tehran.
The indictment, unsealed by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in the Southern District of New York, names Shakeri, 51, as the orchestrator of the scheme, along with Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, and Jonathan Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island. Rivera was arrested on Tuesday, and both Rivera and Loadholt were presented in federal court in New York, where they were ordered held without bail. Shakeri remains at large and is believed to be residing in Iran.
Prosecutors allege that Shakeri, who previously served a prison sentence in the United States before being deported, directed Rivera and Loadholt to locate and kill an outspoken Iranian-American activist, identified in court documents as Victim-1. This individual, who lives in the United States, has reportedly been the target of multiple assassination plots attributed to Iranian intelligence operations. Rivera and Loadholt allegedly conducted surveillance on the intended victim, including photographing her at a scheduled event earlier this year, in exchange for a promised payment of $100,000 from Shakeri.
According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Justice Department’s investigation uncovered additional plots linked to Shakeri, including a directive from the IRGC to devise an assassination plan against President-elect Trump. “We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security,” Garland said, citing Iran’s “grave threat” to U.S. interests.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray also highlighted the IRGC’s targeting of dissidents and American officials as part of Iran’s response to the January 2020 death of Qassem Soleimani, a top IRGC commander killed in a U.S. drone strike. “The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald J. Trump,” Wray said. He added that the FBI remains committed to disrupting Iranian operations that endanger Americans on U.S. soil.
The IRGC, which oversees Iran’s external paramilitary and intelligence operations, has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. since 2019. According to the complaint, Shakeri’s network of associates includes individuals he met in prison, whom he recruited to conduct surveillance and carry out attacks on behalf of the IRGC.
Shakeri faces charges including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. If convicted, he and his co-defendants could face decades in prison. The case underscores escalating tensions between U.S. authorities and Iran, as well as the risks posed by foreign-backed attempts to target American citizens and dissidents on U.S. soil.
