The reason Donald Trump received increased Secret Service protection on July 13, the day of the attempted assassination on his life, was revealed on Tuesday in a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. “Earlier today (Tuesday), in federal court in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Asif Merchant, also known as ‘Asif Raza Merchant,’ 46, with murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. government officials on U.S. soil,” says the press release. “Law enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out. Merchant is in federal custody in New York.” The New York Post identified Merchant as, “a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran (who) plotted to hire hitmen to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other US politicians, according to sources and a federal criminal complaint.” “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in the press release. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens, and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.” Merchant is accused of plotting political assassinations in New York City in August or early September, paying men he thought were contract killers advance payments of $5,000, according to US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace. Court documents show Merchant arrived in the US in April 2024, after spending time in Iran and contacted a person he believed could assist him with his scheme. That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source (the ‘CS’), says the press release. Merchant met with the ‘CS’ in New York in June, explaining the assassination plot, and telling the ‘CS’ the opportunity he had for him was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. According to the press release, Merchant said the intended victims would be “targeted here,” meaning in the United States, instructing the ‘CS’ to set up meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these actions. “Merchant explained that his plot involved multiple criminal schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; (2) planning a protest; and (3) killing a politician or government official,” read the press release, adding, “at that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the CS on how he would kill a target in the various scenarios.” Trump was among several current and former US government officials believed to be potential targets of the plot, a source familiar with the investigation told The Post. “Merchant travelled to New York in June to meet with the supposed hitmen, who turned out to be undercover law enforcement officers, and told them he was arranging the funds with a contact overseas, according to the US Attorney’s office,” reports the Post. Days later Merchant came up with the cash, telling the undercover agents they were going forward with the plot. Merchant was preparing to leave the US on July 12, the day before the Trump shooting, when he was arrested. Merchant told law enforcement officials he had a wife and children living in Iran, and also a wife and children living in Pakistan, according to prosecutors. One of Merchant’s homes is in the Iranian capital of Tehran, according to prosecutors. Merchant’s alleged Iran-backed plot played a role in the Secret Service agreeing to bolster former president Donald Trump’s security detail before the July assassination attempt, sources told The P
