US indicts man for plotting to assassinate Trump

Washington [US], August 7: CNN cited the case file unsealed on August 6 showing that the US Department of Justice has prosecuted Mr. Asif Merchant (Pakistani, 46 years old), who came to New York with the mission of masterminding the assassination of Mr. Trump and US officials in late August or early September.
However, before he could act, Mr. Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he was preparing to leave the United States, a day before the assassination of Mr. Trump in Butler. The arrest took place shortly after Mr. Merchant met with a "hitman" who he believed would be the one to carry out the attack, but was actually an undercover US law enforcement officer. The defendant had prepared $5,000 as an advance payment.
A US official revealed that investigators believe Mr Trump and current and former administration officials were targets of the plot .
Mr Merchant, now in federal custody, said he wanted to target people in the US who "hurt Pakistan and the Muslim world". "These are not ordinary people," he said.
The FBI launched an investigation into the plot weeks before the assassination of Mr. Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Investigators found no evidence of a connection between Mr. Merchant and the gunman who assassinated Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania, Thomas Crooks.
In April, Mr. Merchant is said to have traveled to Iran and met with someone to assist in the plot. That person eventually became a confidential source, reporting information to U.S. officials.
The FBI believed it had thwarted Merchant's plot, and in the weeks after his arrest, he cooperated with investigators, admitting that he had sought a man to be an assassin, a woman to spy on, and about 25 people to stage a diversionary protest after the assassination.
A lawyer for him denied that he cooperated with the investigation, saying the statement was inaccurate and irresponsible.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper