Murder plot suspects traveled to Fairfield University to find target: Officials – NBC Connecticut

The Justice Department has charged an Iranian man and two New York residents suspected of plotting to murder then-candidate Donald Trump and others. Officials said the suspects traveled to Fairfield University to find one of their planned targets who was scheduled to appear there.

The U.S. Justice Department said Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran; Carlisle Rivera, aka Pop, 49, of Brooklyn, New York; and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York, were charged with murder-for-hire. Shakeri remains at large and is believed to be in Iran.

Federal officials said Loadholt and Rivera spent months surveilling a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin living in the United States at Shakeri's direction.

They said the victim was an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and had been the target of several previous kidnapping and/or assassination attempts by the Iranian government.

Journalist Masih Alinejad identified herself to NBC News as the target.

During their efforts to locate and kill the victim, Shakeri, Loadholt and Rivera exchanged messages, officials said.

In February 2024, Rivera and Loadholt notified of an incoming payment from Shakeri and then traveled to Fairfield University, where the victim was scheduled to appear, and took photos on campus, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In April, Shakeri sent Rivera a series of voice notes discussing her efforts to locate and kill the victim. In doing so, she noted that she spent most of her time in certain places in her house, telling Rivera, “You just have to be patient…You have to wait.” and have patience to catch her going in or coming out of the house, or follow her somewhere and take care of it. Don't even think about going in. Going in there is a suicide move.”

NBC News reports that Shakeri likely found his co-defendants by tapping a network of criminal associates he met while serving a prison sentence in New York.

Alinejad wrote on Twitter on Friday that she was “shocked” by the news and had learned from the FBI that Loadholt and Rivera had been arrested as part of a plot to kill her at Fairfield University, where she was scheduled to give a lecture, reported NBC News.

“I also learned that the person tasked with assassinating @realDonaldTrump was also tasked with killing me on U.S. soil,” she wrote. “The suspected murderers also walked outside my house in Brooklyn. I call on the U.S. government and the future president of the United States to take tough action against terrorism.”

“The Islamic Republic understands only one language: the language of print,” she wrote. “I came to America to exercise my First Amendment right to free speech – I don’t want to die. I want to fight against tyranny and I deserve to be safe.”

According to federal officials, Shakeri told law enforcement that on October 7, 2024, he was tasked with presenting a plan to kill President-elect Donald J. Trump.

During the interview, Shakeri claimed he had no intention of proposing a plan to kill Trump within the time frame set by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also said he was assigned to monitor two Jewish American citizens residing in New York City and was offered $500,000 by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official to kill one of the victims. According to the Justice Department, he was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka.