Pakistani National Asif Merchant Faces Trial for Alleged Plot to Assassinate US Politician, Possibly Trump
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Pakistani National Asif Merchant on Trial for Alleged Plot to Assassinate US Leaders
M
Moneycontrol•27-02-2026, 13:02
Pakistani National Asif Merchant on Trial for Alleged Plot to Assassinate US Leaders
•Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani national, is on trial in New York for allegedly plotting to assassinate US political leaders, including Donald Trump.
•Prosecutors claim Merchant paid $5,000 to undercover FBI agents he believed were hitmen, outlining a plan to shoot a political figure at a public rally.
•Court filings suggest senior US officials, including Trump, were considered targets, with searches for Trump rally locations found on Merchant’s laptop.
•Merchant allegedly described the target as "someone who was hurting Pakistan and the Muslim world" and had previously lived in Iran.
•His defense argues there's no concrete evidence of an actionable plot, portraying him as a religious businessman with families in Pakistan and Iran.
