"Merchant, who faces a life sentence if convicted in the Eastern District of New York, allegedly asked a New York City contact, Naseem Ali, to connect him with two hit men. Unbeknownst to Merchant, Ali, a former translator for the U.S. military who served in Afghanistan, had already informed the FBI about Merchant's suspicious requests and those hit men were in fact undercover agents."
"It was in May 2024 that Ali contacted the FBI, he said, after he noticed he was being followed by as many as eight or nine cars whenever he was driving around with Merchant. He became an informant."
"In June 2024, the two men met at Merchant's hotel room in Queens, where Merchant told him he wanted to hire people to steal documents or a USB from a house; stage a protest at a political event; and kill a high-up U.S. political official."
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with connections to Iran, faces life imprisonment for allegedly participating in a 2024 terrorism plot and assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Prosecutors presented their case in Brooklyn federal court, with testimony from Naseem Ali, a former U.S. military translator who became an FBI informant. Ali testified that Merchant asked him to connect with hit men, unaware they were undercover agents. Ali reported Merchant's suspicious activities to the FBI in May 2024 after noticing surveillance. In June 2024, at a Queens hotel meeting, Merchant allegedly outlined plans to steal documents, stage protests, and kill a high-ranking U.S. political official. Video evidence presented to the jury documented these interactions.
Read at www.amny.com
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