一名47岁的巴基斯坦男子阿西夫·默罕默德（Asif Merchant）周五因密谋暗杀美国总统唐纳德·特朗普及其他政客被定罪。他在接受联邦调查局（FBI）探员讯问时声称，伊朗“对发生在宾夕法尼亚州巴特勒镇的针对特朗普的暗杀企图负有责任”。
在默罕默德的庭审中，FBI探员杰奎琳·史密斯（Jacqueline Smith）作证称，默罕默德告诉她，“这与他被派来这里执行的任务是一样的”。默罕默德向陪审员表示，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）派他执行一项“任务”，包括让他参加共和党集会，以刺杀包括特朗普在内的美国政客。
默罕默德于2024年7月12日被捕，就在巴特勒镇枪击事件发生的前一天。在该事件中，托马斯·克鲁克斯（Thomas Crooks）向集会人群开枪，造成一人死亡，特朗普的耳朵被流弹擦伤。
FBI多次表示，他们没有发现克鲁克斯有同谋者，也没有证据表明任何外国势力参与了此次事件。
默罕默德被陪审团判定犯有雇佣杀人罪和恐怖主义未遂罪，他作证称特朗普并非唯一目标，当时的总统乔·拜登和前总统候选人尼基·黑利也在他的名单上。他声称，他之所以参与密谋，是因为伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队警告称会将他的家人作为目标。
“我别无选择，”默罕默德说，“我的家人受到了威胁。”
默罕默德目前面临最高终身监禁的刑罚，刑期将在后续听证会上确定。
默罕默德是在被拍到在餐巾纸上勾勒暗杀政客的阴谋后被捕的，当时与他密谋的人后来被证实是FBI线人。联邦检察官在庭审中播放了默罕默德与线人交谈的视频。检察官称，默罕默德还试图雇佣两名杀手并支付5000美元，但那两人实际上是伪装成刺客的联邦特工。
史密斯探员在逮捕默罕默德后与其会面，她表示默罕默德从未表达过担心家人安全的意思。默罕默德曾称自己想从事情报工作并获得报酬，史密斯说。
此外，史密斯探员还透露，一名伊朗联络人指示默罕默德参加共和党政治集会以摸清安保情况，但默罕默德担心身份暴露，因此改为在线观看集会。
默罕默德的辩护团队向陪审员表示，他们的当事人有两名妻子，是一位顾家的人，对自己的信仰极为重视，并且他故意表现得粗心大意，因为他希望被抓。
在总结陈词中，辩护律师称默罕默德在此次行动中被迫行事，认为如果不配合，他的家人将受到伤害。此外，律师还列举了几个例子，称默罕默德作为情报人员的行为几乎可以说是无能。
福克斯新闻的丹妮尔·卡瓦列里（Danielle Cavaliere）和布伦丹·麦克唐纳（Brendan McDonald）对此报道有贡献。
A Pakistani man convicted on Friday of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump and other politicians told an FBI agent he thought Iran “was responsible” for the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Asif Merchant, 47, told the FBI agent, Jacqueline Smith, that the incident “was the same thing he was sent here to do,” Smith testified during Merchant’s trial. Merchant told jurors the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sent him on a “mission” to kill U.S. politicians, including by telling him to attend a Republican rally.
Merchant was arrested July 12, 2024, one day prior to the shooting in Butler, where Thomas Crooks fired several shots into a rally crowd, killing one and grazing Trump’s ear.
The FBI has said repeatedly that it found no evidence that Crooks had co-conspirators or that any foreign actors were involved in the incident.
Merchant, who was convicted by a jury of murder-for-hire and attempt to commit terrorism, testified that Trump was not his only target, telling jurors then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley were also on his list. He claimed that he only took part in the plot because Iran’s IRGC warned it would target his family.
“I had no other options,” Merchant said. “My family was threatened.”
Merchant now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. His sentence will be determined at a later hearing.
Merchant was arrested after he was recorded on camera outlining a plot on a napkin to kill a politician with a person who turned out to be an FBI informant. Federal prosecutors showed video during the trial of Merchant speaking to the informant. The prosecutors said Merchant also tried to hire two hit men and pay them $5,000, but the men turned out to be federal agents posing as assassins.
Smith, the FBI agent who met with Merchant after his arrest, said that Merchant never conveyed that he feared for his family. Merchant said he wanted to do intelligence work and be paid for it, Smith said.
The FBI agent also said Merchant was told by an Iranian handler to attend a Republican political rally to scope out security but that Merchant was worried about being identified, and so he watched the rally online instead.
Merchant’s defense team told jurors their client, who has two wives, was a family man and cared deeply about his faith and that he intentionally acted carelessly because he wanted to be caught.
In their closing arguments, defense lawyers said Merchant had his hand forced in the operation, thinking his family would be harmed if he did not cooperate. Additionally, the lawyers cited several instances where they said Merchant’s actions as an intelligence operator were little more than incompetent.
Fox News’ Danielle Cavaliere and Brendan McDonald contributed.
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