An alleged Iran-backed operative accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump when he was the GOP frontrunner during the 2024 election was caught on hidden camera describing his plan using a vape pen to symbolize the intended target, newly released video evidence shows, the New York Post reports.
Prosecutors say Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani national, believed he could carry out a murder-for-hire scheme by paying two men just $5,000 each in advance. The FBI uncovered the plot last year, thwarting what officials called a “dangerously misguided assassination attempt.”
The footage, presented Thursday in Brooklyn federal court, shows Merchant seated in a Queens motel room equipped with secret FBI cameras. Placing an orange vape pen on a napkin, he declared, “This is the target. How will it die?” The video, recorded on June 4, 2024, captures Merchant discussing how he planned to kill the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
According to investigators, Merchant outlined his plan to a supposed recruit who was, in fact, cooperating with federal agents. “To kill this one from here is very easy,” Merchant said in the footage. U.S. officials have linked Iranian operatives to continual efforts to target Trump in retaliation for the 2020 drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani during Trump’s presidency.
Court filings indicate Merchant paid two undercover federal agents—posing as contract killers—a combined $10,000 as an advance for the plot. He was arrested in July 2024 as he attempted to leave the country.
Prosecutors allege Merchant intended to disguise the killing as part of a staged protest at a Trump rally, a diversion designed to help the hired assassins escape. He also discussed plans to steal U.S. government documents, recordings presented at trial revealed. Although Merchant never explicitly named Trump, investigators said he conducted online searches for Trump’s campaign rallies and locations, confirming him as the intended target.
The informant, who testified under the alias “Nadeem Ali,” told jurors he met Merchant through friends in New York’s Pakistani community. Merchant had initially approached him with a business proposal involving clothing imports. Ali said he contacted the FBI after noticing unmarked vehicles following him, fearing he was being targeted by extremists for his prior service as a U.S. Army linguist in Afghanistan.
FBI agents informed Ali that Merchant was under active investigation and enlisted his cooperation. Ali agreed to record their meetings and later received $20,000 for his involvement in the sting operation. Merchant had entered the United States on a temporary visa in April 2024. His attorney emphasized that his visit was federally authorized.
U.S. officials described Merchant as an agent of the Iranian regime. Recordings played in court suggested his handler in Iran held political connections and had helped his Iran-based wife with an immigration matter.
Merchant has pleaded not guilty to murder-for-hire and terrorism-related charges, according to The Post. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. His defense has sought to portray him as a family man with households in both Pakistan and Iran, an arrangement his attorney said is “perfectly legal” under cultural norms.