Would-be assassin gets 15 years for NYC plot against Iraninan-American journalist

"A federal judge gave a would-be assassin the maximum 15 years in prison Wednesday for plotting to kill an Iranian American writer on behalf of Tehran after hearing the woman who was targeted describe multiple attempts on her life as threats against all Americans. Judge Lewis J. Liman said Carlisle Rivera's written conversations as he plotted to kill journalist and human rights advocate Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024 were "chilling" and he inflicted "great harm" on her and her husband."

""I'm just a woman," Alinejad said. "My weapon is my voice. My weapon is my social media." She urged the judge to give Rivera the maximum sentence to send a message to anyone "targeting U.S. citizens on U.S. soil" and to "protect unarmed people like me now facing massacre in my country." People in Iran, Alinejad said, are "facing guns and bullets ... to protect the global security," including for Americans."

"Before the sentence was announced, Rivera, 51, told the judge: "I'm deeply sorry for my actions." Outside the Manhattan federal courthouse, Alinejad said the United States must be careful to not let indiscriminate killings happening in Iran spread to the U.S. As she spoke she held up a computer tablet and showed reporters video clips of body bags of some of the thousands of Iranians killed during recent protests."

A federal judge sentenced Carlisle Rivera to the maximum 15 years in prison for plotting to kill Iranian American journalist and human rights advocate Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024. Judge Lewis J. Liman described Rivera's written conversations as "chilling" and said they inflicted "great harm" on Alinejad and her husband. The couple described repeatedly changing residences, limiting interactions with their children, and dodging threats from Iran. Alinejad said her weapon is her voice and social media and urged the maximum sentence to deter attacks on U.S. citizens and protect unarmed people facing massacre in Iran. Rivera apologized before sentencing.

Read at New York Post