Bumbling Iran-backed terrorist convicted in a jiffy — as ridiculous picture of his plot to assassinate Trump released
By Ben Kochman and Kyle Schnitzer
Published March 6, 2026
Updated March 6, 2026, 6:37 p.m. ET
A Pakistani terrorist recruited by Iranian spies was convicted Friday of cooking up a half-baked plot to kill President Trump, detailing the plan with an absurdly crude drawing.
Asif Merchant, 48, was found guilty of murder-for-hire and terrorism charges after a Brooklyn jury — which deliberated for less than two hours — rejected his claim that he was forced into the bungling murder scheme because Iran had “threatened” his family.
FBI secret cameras caught Merchant in June 2024 outlining his plans to whack then-candidate Trump at a GOP rally during a meeting with a would-be recruit inside the Floral Park Motor Lodge in Queens.
Using a piece of lined notebook paper, the convicted plotter drew a large rectangle to denote the crowd, a smaller box for the stage and an arrow to describe where the candidate would be standing.
Merchant then grabbed a creamsicle colored vape and placed it on top of the arrow.
https://nypost.com/2026/03/06/us-news/pakistani-terrorist-recruited-by-iranian-spies-convicted-of-plotting-to-kill-trump-other-us-pols-in-harebrained-plan-foiled-by-feds/
