How Iranian Trump hitmen met in American prisons then hatched their plan to kill president-elect

The men accused of orchestrating a foiled assassination attempt against Donald Trump on Iran’s behalf met each other while serving time in US prisons.

Farhad Shakeri, 51, originally from Afghanistan, met his alleged co-conspirator Carlisle Rivera, 49, while serving time in New York state prisons.

The duo have been charged alongside Rivera’s ‘associate’ Jonathan Loadholt, 36, in connection to murder-for-hire plots against Trump.

The trio used coded phone calls and secret meetings to additionally target Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad and two Jewish businessmen living in the US, according to their indictment.

The document states that Shakeri met Rivera while in jail following his 1994 conviction for robbery, before he was introduced to Loadholt through Rivera.

The men accused of orchestrating a foiled assassination attempt against Donald Trump as revenge for the murder of a top Iranian military official met each other while serving time in US prisons. Pictured: The aftermath of the 2020 killing

The defendants overlapped while Shakeri was serving time at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, from 2004 to 2007.

At the time Rivera was incarcerated for his second-degree murder conviction, officials said.

The indictment also states the Shakeri met with a third alleged co-conspirator during a stint at Woodboume Correctional Facility between 1996 and 2002.

The unnamed individual, who has not been charged in the indictment, was serving time for manslaughter. 

Shakeri has been identified by the FBI as the ringleader in the assassination plot. 

Special Agent Mathew Cruschz said he is an asset of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. 

The attempt of Trump’s life was designed to be revenge for the 2020 killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, according to Cruschz.

The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges on a thwarted plot by Iran to kill President-elect Donald Trump before the election

The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges on a thwarted plot by Iran to kill President-elect Donald Trump before the election

Outrage over the 2020 assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, Gen. Qasem Soleimani motivated Tehran to hatch a plot against Trump, the DOJ said

 Outrage over the 2020 assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Gen. Qasem Soleimani motivated Tehran to hatch a plot against Trump, the DOJ said

‘I have learned that Shakeri has a network of criminal associates residing in the New York City area, developed during Shakeri’s time in prison, that Shakeri has used in furtherance of IRGC assassination plots,’ Cruschz wrote in the complaint. 

The disturbing documents unsealed by the Department of Justice Friday revealed the arsenal of weapons the assassins had at their disposal and the texts messages they sent each other to concoct their deadly plan.

The trio also shared frightening voice messages, urging patience and detailing how they would follow their targets.

Prosecutors laid out how Iran is using overseas agents to actively target Americans on U.S. soil for kidnapping and murder.

Their aim is to try and silence dissidents critical of the regime, as well as hit back at at Soleimani’s death.

While Rivera and Loadholt have been arrested, Shakeri remains at large and is  believed to be on the run in Iran.

The Afghan-born suspect immigrated to the US as a child, but was booted out of the country in 2008 after he served 14 years for a robbery conviction. 

Activist and journalist Masih Alinejad was the secondary target in Iran's plot to assassinate Donald Trump, court documents reveal

Activist and journalist Masih Alinejad was the secondary target in Iran’s plot to assassinate Donald Trump, court documents reveal 

Pictures released by the DOJ show the cache of weapons the suspected hitmen had at their disposal

Pictures released by the DOJ show the cache of weapons the suspected hitmen had at their disposal 

Records on the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision shows that his parole supervision ended in 2015.

Just four years later he was arrested again in Sri Lanka in connection with the seizure of 92 kilograms of heroin, the indictment states.

The IRGC tasked Shakeri with surveilling and killing Trump to avenge the devastating drone strike that killed Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in January 2020.

Trump has been a target ever since Soleimani’s slaying, and during the campaign asked for military planes and larger Secret Service detail to protect him from Iranian threats.

In September he said he’d threaten to blow Iran ‘to smithereens’ if he was back in the White House and there were threats from Tehran.

Shakeri was ordered to assassinate Trump with just a month until millions of Americans went to the polls on November 5.

Trump assassination attempt pictures released by the government

Trump assassination attempt pictures released by the government

Pictures released by the Justice Department after the thwarted attempt on Trump's life

Pictures released by the Justice Department after the thwarted attempt on Trump’s life

However, he told the FBI in recorded phone calls he didn’t plan to carry out the operation in the timeframe he was given.

Shakeri was then told to delay the plot, because Iran thought Trump would lose the election and it would then be easier to get to him without his presidential Secret Service detail.

It is unclear when Shakeri went back to Iran and how he managed to flee the United States.

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