Vape pen on a napkin: Secret FBI video reveals alleged Iran-linked Trump assassination plot
An FBI video shows an alleged Iran-linked operative planning to assassinate Donald Trump using a vape pen and napkin to outline the attack.Summary
A secretly recorded FBI video presented in a Brooklyn courtroom reveals an alleged plot to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, orchestrated by Asif Merchant, who prosecutors claim is linked to Iran. Merchant reportedly paid $5,000 to undercover FBI agents posing as hitmen, using a vape pen and objects on a napkin to demonstrate a shooting at a campaign rally followed by a staged protest for escape. Nadeem Ali, an intermediary, alerted the FBI after becoming suspicious of Merchant’s requests and secretly recorded their conversations. While Merchant never explicitly named Trump as the target, investigators found searches for Trump rally locations on his laptop. The alleged plot surfaced weeks before an unrelated assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania. Iran denies any involvement in threats against US political figures. The video surfaced amid recent strikes by the United States and Israel against targets in Iran, and a claim by Donald Trump that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead, later confirmed by Iranian state television.
(Source：Mathrubhumi English)
