Suspects in murder-for-hire plot traveled to Fairfield University trying to find target: officials

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

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

Federal officials said Loadholt and Rivera, at Shakeri’s instruction, spent months surveilling a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who is living in the United States.

They said the victim is an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and has been the target of multiple prior plots for kidnapping and or murder directed by the Government of Iran.

Journalist Masih Alinejad identified herself to NBC News as the person who was targeted.

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

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

In April, Shakeri sent Rivera a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill the victim, noting that she spent most of her time in particular locations of her home, and told Rivera that “you just gotta have patience … You gotta wait and have patience to catch her either going in the house or coming out, or following her out somewhere and taking care of it. Don’t think about going in. In is a suicide move.”

NBC News reports that Shakeri is believed to have found his co-defendants by tapping into a network of criminal associates he had met while he served time in prison in New York.

Alinejad posted on Twitter on Friday said she was "shocked" by the news and learned from the FBI that Loadholt and Rivera were arrested in a plot to kill her at Fairfield University, where she was scheduled to give a talk, NBC News reports.

"I also learned that the person assigned to assassinate @realDonaldTrump was also assigned to kill me on U.S. soil," she wrote. "The alleged killers also went in front of my house in Brooklyn. I call on the U.S. government and the future President of the United States to be tough on terror."

"The Islamic Republic understands only one language: the language of pressure," she wrote. "I came to America to practice my First Amendment right to freedom of speech — I don’t want to die. I want to fight against tyranny, and I deserve to be safe."

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

During the interview, Shakeri claimed he did not intend to propose a plan to kill Trump within the timeframe set by the Islamic  Revolutionary Guard Corps . He also stated he was tasked with surveilling two Jewish American citizens residing in New York City and offered $500,000 by an Islamic  Revolutionary Guard Corps  official for the murder of either victim. He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, according to the Justice Department.