Who Is Asif Merchant, Pakistani Man Arrested For Plotting To Assassinate Trump?

Federal prosecutors have charged Asif Merchant, a 46-year-old Pakistani with alleged ties to Iran, for plotting to assassinate US politicians. The case has prompted increased security measures for former President Donald Trump and other officials.

Although the complaint does not specify Trump as a target, reports suggest he was among those intended to be assassinated. Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, is a 46-year-old Pakistani national with two wives, one in Pakistan and one in Iran, and children in both countries.

The US Justice Department noted that he frequently travels to Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Court documents revealed that Asif Merchant’s plot included several components: stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home, organizing protests, and assassinating a politician or government official.

Merchant used code names for each element—”tee-shirt” for protests, “flannel shirt” for theft, “fleece jacket” for the assassination, and “yarn-dye” for meetings. To lure his initial contact, who later alerted authorities, Merchant claimed he had a relative in the “yarn-dyed” business in Pakistan and proposed a business venture.

Merchant hired individuals he believed to be hitmen who were actually undercover agents and asked one supposed assassin to describe how “the target” would be killed in various scenarios.