Pakistani man with Iran ties pleads not guilty in alleged murder-for-hire plot to assassinate US politicians

A Pakistani national with alleged close ties to Iran pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges accusing him of plotting to have U.S. politicians assassinated on U.S. soil. 

Asif Merchant, also known as "Asif Raza Merchant," pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court in New York on Monday. 

He was indicted Sept. 10 with attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries and murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil.

Merchant allegedly paid undercover agents to execute his plan for the assassinations. Though the indictment does not name any alleged targets, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has indicated that former President Trump, President Biden, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley were possible targets.

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Merchant's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 6. Merchant has been in federal custody since July. The FBI arrested him when he tried to leave the country. 

Wearing a tan jumpsuit with an orange shirt underneath, Merchant showed a stern, serious face and sat in between his attorney and interpreter at the hearing Monday, Fox News observed. 

Before the hearing, Merchant's lawyer, Avraham Moskowitz, told reporters outside the courthouse that his client intended to plead not guilty and that bail would not be set Monday. 

The judge asked Merchant if he read the grand jury charges against him, if he discussed them with his lawyer and if everything was translated to Urdu. Merchant replied yes to all. 

Moskowitz told the judge that Merchant speaks English, so he could communicate with him, but an interpreter was there in "excess of caution" so he would not miss anything.

The lawyer told the judge that his client had entered a not guilty plea before bringing up concerns about living conditions at the MDC-Metropolitan Detention Center at the Special Administrative Measures unit. He said Merchant is kept in a small, windowless room most of the time and has lost between 15 and 20 pounds because he has not been receiving the proper halal diet required for Shiite Muslims.

Moskowitz said three times that these conditions have been "torture for him." The government then said they had not been aware of these issues.

In announcing the indictment last week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department "will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security," and as the terrorism and murder-for-hire charges against Merchant demonstrate, "we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans."

"This dangerous murder-for-hire plot was allegedly orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian regime's playbook," FBI Director Chris Wray added. "A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a serious threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI. Protecting Americans from terrorists remains our highest priority."

After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan in approximately April and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official, according to court documents. That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source. 

In early June, Merchant met with the source in New York and explained his assassination plot. He allegedly told the source that it would not be a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. 

Merchant then made a "finger gun" motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing, court documents say. Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be "targeted here," meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the source to arrange meetings with individuals who Merchant could hire to carry out these actions. 

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At that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the source on how he would kill a target in the various scenarios, court documents say. 

Prosecutors allege Merchant stated that the assassination would occur after he left the United States and that he would communicate with the source from overseas using code words. The source asked whether Merchant had spoken to the unidentified "party" back home with whom Merchant was working. Merchant responded that he had and that the party back home told him to "finalize" the plan and leave the United States.

In mid-June, Merchant met with the purported hit men, who were in fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers, in New York, court documents say. Merchant advised the undercover officers that he was looking for three services from them: theft of documents, arranging protests at political rallies and for them to kill a "political person." 

Merchant allegedly stated that the hit men would receive instructions on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September, after Merchant had departed the United States.

Prosecutors say Merchant then began arranging means to obtain $5,000 in cash to pay the undercover officers as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas. On June 21, Merchant met with the undercover officers in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the undercover officers who he believed to be hit men, one of the undercover officers stated, "Now we’re bonded," to which Merchant responded, "Yes." The officer then stated, "Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this," to which Merchant responded, "Yes, absolutely."

Merchant subsequently made flight arrangements and planned to leave the U.S. on July 12, which is the same day when law enforcement agents arrested Merchant before he could leave the country.

Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Law enforcement shot and killed the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. 

On Sunday, authorities said there was what appeared to be a second assassination attempt on the former president at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

That suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, made his first court appearance Monday.

Fox News' Sandy Ibrahim and Eric Shawn contributed to this report.