Carlisle Rivera, 50, a convicted murderer hired by Iran to assassinate Iranian-American journalist and human-rights activist Masih Alinejad, was sentenced on Jan. 28 to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit stalking.
Prosecutors said Rivera was recruited in 2024 by Farhad Shakeri, an associate living in Iran and an asset of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to locate and kill Alinejad in New York City. Rivera and Shakeri had previously been incarcerated together in New York state prison.
“Today’s sentence underscores the consequences of conspiring with a regime that relies on violence and intimidation to survive,” stated John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security.
According to court filings, Shakeri offered Rivera $100,000 to carry out the killing. Rivera recruited Jonathon Loadholt, his co-defendant, and used IRGC-provided funds to purchase a firearm and burner phones.
The men stalked Alinejad for months, including at a public speaking event and near a Brooklyn residence where they thought she lived. In voice messages intercepted by law enforcement, Rivera told Shakeri that Alinejad was “hard to catch, bro.”
Rivera was arrested on Nov. 7, 2024. Authorities recovered a gun with a “partially obliterated” serial number from his home.
“Thanks to the FBI, NYPD and SDNY for stopping three assassination plots on U.S. soil. That gave me a second life,” Alinejad wrote. “Five regime-hired hitmen are now in U.S. prisons.”
According to the Justice Department, Iranian intelligence officials and assets plotted to kidnap Alinejad in the United States for rendition to Iran in 2020 and 2021. Then, in 2022, the IRGC hired powerful, violent members of the Russian mob to murder Alinejad. After those efforts failed, the IRGC turned to Shakeri, who hired Rivera, the department stated.
“So when do we go after the guy who ordered it, Ayatollah Khamenei, and is now massacring unarmed Iranians? If dictators like Maduro can be chased down, he’s not untouchable,” she wrote.
Alinejad also acknowledged the European Union’s recent decision to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
“Correct move,” she stated. “Terrorists must be removed or terror spreads.”
