Pakistani national with 'Iran ties' charged with plot to assassinate Donald Trump

A Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran has been charged with plotting to assassinate former United States President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and several other public officials.

US attorney general Merrick Garland, who announced the charges against Pakistani national Asif Merchant on Tuesday, indicated without naming Trump that the target was the former president. According to a criminal complaint unsealed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday, Merchant, after spending time in Iran, flew from Pakistan to the US in April to recruit hitmen to carry out the alleged plot.

The plot failed, as per the complaint, as the person Merchant had contacted was a confidential informant working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The court papers said the plot involved multiple elements, including stealing documents from a target's home, planning protests and killing a politician or government official. Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he was getting ready to catch a flight out of the country, as per the document.