Pakistani Man Accused of Plotting Political Assassination Admitted Into US via Immigration Parole: Sources

The Pakistani national with links to Iran who was arrested for allegedly plotting a political assassination on American soil was admitted into the United States via immigration parole for the “significant public benefit,” multiple federal law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told Fox News.

In April, Asif Merchant, 46, flew into Houston where he encountered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. The FBI sponsored his parole for “security interests,” the law enforcement sources said.

The FBI had eyes on Merchant before he arrived in the U.S. and needed him to physically enter the country so they could build a case and arrest him. If they arrested him at customs, they would not have been able to gather evidence and information about his plot, the sources said.

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Merchant was arrested on July 12 while trying to leave the country, federal prosecutors said.

Days after arriving in Houston, he flew to New York City and worked with a person he believed to be a hit man in a murder-for-hire plot {snip}

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Merchant was potentially targeting former President Trump. The plot has no ties to Trump being shot during a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

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