On Monday, Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man suspected of having connections to Iran, entered a not guilty plea to charges relating to a purported plot to kill an American lawmaker as payback for the execution of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief commander Qassem Soleimani.
At a hearing before US Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn, Merchant, 46, entered his plea to one count of attempting to commit terrorism across national lines and one count of murder for hire.
The magistrate mandated Merchant’s incarceration until his trial.
According to the authorities, Merchant traveled to Iran and back before coming to the US to scout potential participants for the conspiracy.
Prosecutors said that Merchant informed a confidential informant that he also intended to arrange rallies in the US and take papers from one target.
