Brooklyn Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Murder-For-Hire Plot And Stalking A Journalist And Prominent Critic Of The Iranian Government

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Donald Holstead, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office, James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Jessica S. Tisch, announced that CARLISLE RIVERA, a/k/a “Pop,” was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for his participation in a murder-for-hire plot directed by the Government of Iran targeting Masih Alinejad, a journalist, author, and human rights activist.  RIVERA previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who imposed today’s sentence.

“The Government of Iran, a sponsor of terrorism, assassination, and espionage around the globe, has engaged in a campaign of assassination plots in the United States and abroad targeting those who oppose the regime,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “The Government of Iran hired Rivera through an associate living in Iran to locate and murder Masih Alinejad in cold blood, right here in New York City.  The Government of Iran has long sought to murder Ms. Alinejad, a U.S. citizen residing in New York City, because of her efforts to stand up to the Iranian regime and expose its discriminatory treatment of women, corruption, and human rights abuses.  Today’s sentence should be a warning to anyone who would cast their lot with the brutal Iranian regime and seek to do their murderous bidding, especially on American soil:  You will be stopped, you will be arrested, and you will be brought to justice.”

“Today’s sentence underscores the consequences of conspiring with a regime that relies on violence and intimidation to survive,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.  “The National Security Division will continue to work tirelessly with its partners to detect and protect against such plots and to hold accountable those who try to achieve the vile ends of the Iranian regime.”

“The Iranian government repeatedly targeted a journalist and human rights activist living in New York, but thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners those efforts failed,” said FBI Assistant Director Donald Holstead. “Today's sentencing sends a strong message that anyone who conspires with foreign powers to harm people living in the United States will be held accountable.”

“The Iranian government enlisted a convicted killer to stalk and murder an American journalist and activist, Masih Alinejad, in an effort to forever silence her vocal criticism of its regime,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr.  “Carlisle Rivera served as a hired gun to facilitate the political assassination attempt ordered by an international adversary.  May today’s lengthy sentence reflect the FBI’s unwavering stance against any domestic or foreign actor seeking to target our nation’s residents for nefarious agendas.”

“The defendant in this case showed a pitiless, calculated disregard for human life—and today’s sentencing is the culmination of a coordinated, comprehensive effort to bring him and his co-conspirators to justice,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.  “The plot to murder Masih Alinejad, directed by the government of Iran and its terrorist proxy, is further proof that the work of our Joint Terrorism Task Force is as important and relevant as ever.  I want to thank all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners for their work on this critical, wide-ranging case.”

As reflected in the charging instruments, other public filings, and statements in public court proceedings:

In 2024, RIVERA was hired by his criminal confederate, FARHAD SHAKERI, to murder Masih Alinejad on instructions from high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”).  The IRGC is a military and intelligence organization that directly reports to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is the Government of Iran’s primary instrument for providing financial and lethal aid to proxy terror groups in the Middle East.  Among its activities, the IRGC plots and conducts attack operations outside Iran targeting, among others, U.S. citizens residing abroad and in the United States.  Ms. Alinejad is one of the IRGC’s principal targets.  The IRGC and the Government of Iran’s intelligence services have long sought to kidnap or murder Ms. Alinejad because of her efforts to promote gender equality and civil liberties in Iran and to expose the regime’s corruption, oppression, and terrorism to the international community.  In 2020 and 2021, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap Ms. Alinejad in the U.S. for rendition to Iran; then, in 2022, the IRGC hired powerful, violent members of the Russian Mob to murder Ms. Alinejad.  After those efforts failed, the IRGC turned to SHAKERI, who hired RIVERA to kill Ms. Alinejad.

RIVERA and SHAKERI were incarcerated together in the New York State prison system after RIVERA’s 1994 conviction for murder and SHAKERI’s 1991 conviction for manslaughter.  In 2024, SHAKERI was living in Iran and was an IRGC asset. SHAKERI offered RIVERA $100,000 to locate and kill Ms. Alinejad, and RIVERA agreed.  RIVERA then recruited his friend, co-defendant JONATHAN LOADHOLT, to assist him in the murder plot.  Using money sent by SHAKERI, RIVERA and LOADHOLT purchased a firearm and “burner” cellphones.  The two men then spent several months attempting to find and kill Ms. Alinejad, including by following her to a public speaking event and repeatedly stalking the Brooklyn house where SHAKERI and the IRGC believed Ms. Alinejad lived.  

During their efforts to locate and kill Ms. Alinejad, RIVERA and his co-conspirators shared messages about their progress and photographs relating to their murder plot.  For example, in or about February 2024, RIVERA and LOADHOLT messaged about an incoming payment from SHAKERI, and then traveled to Fairfield University, where Ms. Alinejad was scheduled to appear, and took photographs on campus.  In April 2024, RIVERA and his co-defendants exchanged a series of voice notes discussing their efforts to locate and kill Ms. Alinejad. In one voice note, RIVERA told SHAKERI that Ms. Alinejad was “hard to catch, bro.  And because she hard to catch, there ain’t gonna be no simple pull up, unless there[’s] the luck of the draw.”  In a subsequent voice note, RIVERA referred to the “slammer,” meaning a firearm he had obtained to kill Ms. Alinejad.

On November 7, 2024, before he could complete his plan to kill Ms. Alinejad, RIVERA was arrested. At RIVERA’s residence, law enforcement agents recovered, among other things, a firearm with a partially obliterated serial number.

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In addition to the prison term, RIVERA, 50, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

In January 2026, LOADHOLT pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  LOADHOLT is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Liman in April 2026.  SHAKERI remains at large.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents and analysts from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department, and the FBI Washington Field Office.  Mr. Clayton also thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection New York Field Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division, and the New York State Police.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig and Michael D. Lockard are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Leslie Esbrook of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, as well as the Counterterrorism Section of Department of Justice’s National Security Division.