A hidden camera video shown in a Brooklyn federal courtroom captures an alleged Iran-linked operative outlining a 2024 plot to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to a report by the New York Post.
The footage, recorded during a meeting arranged by US authorities, shows the suspect, identified by prosecutors as Asif Merchant, demonstrating the alleged plan using a vape pen placed on a napkin to represent his intended target.
“This is the target. How will it die?” Merchant is heard saying in the video, the New York Post reported.
Merchant, 47, is a Pakistani national who entered the US in April 2024. Prosecutors allege he attempted to recruit two men he believed were hired killers, offering $5,000 upfront as part of a broader murder for hire scheme targeting Trump, according to the report.
According to court filings cited by the New York Post, Merchant discussed staging a protest near a Trump campaign rally to create confusion following the attack, allowing the assailants to escape amid the chaos. The men he approached were cooperating with US law enforcement, and the meeting was secretly recorded.
Alleged plot took place months before the July 2024 assassination attempt
Federal prosecutors have alleged that Merchant had links to Iran, though details of those connections have not been fully disclosed in open court. The case is being heard in the Eastern District of New York, where Merchant has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The New York Post reported that the alleged plot took place months before the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, an attack that US authorities have said was unrelated to the Iran-linked investigation.
Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in plots targeting US political figures, dismissing such allegations as politically motivated. Iranian officials have previously rejected claims by Washington that Tehran seeks to assassinate current or former US leaders.
The undercover video was first reported by the New York Post and later cited by Iran International, which highlighted the alleged Iranian connections described by US prosecutors.