Federal law enforcement agents arrested Khalid Mehdiyev, 23, near the home of author and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad last week and are investigating if he was part of a plot to assassinate her.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly targeted Alinejad, who is a U.S. citizen, because of the powerful influence that she has online in speaking out against the regime. Police say that they observed Mehdiyev sitting in a car, which had an out of state license plate, for several hours on at least two days last week, adding that at one point he got out of his vehicle and tried to look inside the windows of Alinejad’s home.
“These are the scary scenes capturing a man who tried to enter my house in New York with a loaded gun to kill me,” Alinejad tweeted along with a video from a camera on her front door that allegedly showed the suspect. “Last year the FBI stopped the Islamic Republic from kidnapping me. My crime is giving voice to voiceless people. The US administration must be tough on terror.”
These are the scary scenes capturing a man who tried to enter my house in New York with a loaded gun to kill me.
Last year the FBI stopped the Islamic Republic from kidnapping me.
My crime is giving voice to voiceless people. The US administration must be tough on terror. pic.twitter.com/XsxlFLSlOk— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 31, 2022
Police were able to pull him over when he failed to stop at a stop sign and arrested him when they discovered that he was driving without a license. Police found a loaded AK-47 inside his vehicle with a serial number that had allegedly been filed off, which is a felony.
“Shocked to learn that an assassin with a loaded AK47 came my home in Brooklyn,” Alinejad added. “Last year, the Islamic Republic, tried to kidnap me, now they want to kill me. I’m grateful to federal agents but the Administration must do more to protect US citizens.”
Four Iranian intelligence operatives, who remain at large, conspired to kidnap Alinejad last year after she had repeatedly criticized the regime, U.S. prosecutors said in charging documents last year.
The federal indictment alleged that the men plotted to lure her to a third country where they would kidnap her and then force her back to Iran. Investigators said that professionals stalked and surveilled her movements.
A fifth person living in the U.S. was charged with providing financial support to the alleged plot but was not charged in the actual kidnapping plot.
Despite the incident that happened this last week, Alinejad spent Sunday afternoon advocating for the rights of Iranian women that he been forced to make confessions.
“While the international media is paying attention to my assassination plot in the US, let’s remember these women who have been forced to give false confessions against themselves on Iranian state TV,” she tweeted. “These acts of terror won’t stop our fight against forced hijab.”
While the international media is paying attention to my assassination plot in the US, let’s remember these women who have been forced to give false confessions against themselves on Iranian state TV. These acts of terror won’t stop our fight against forced hijab.#LetUsTalk pic.twitter.com/i3LQXcYcQd
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) July 31, 2022