Overview
- U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman imposed the statutory maximum and three years of supervised release after Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit stalking.
- Prosecutors say intermediary Farhad Shakeri, believed to be in Iran, offered Rivera $100,000 under IRGC instructions, and authorities have also tied Shakeri to a separate plot targeting President Trump.
- Investigators say Rivera and co-defendant Jonathan Loadholt bought a firearm and burner phones, conducted months of surveillance, and traveled to Fairfield University before the planned event was canceled following an FBI warning.
- Rivera was arrested on Nov. 7, 2024, and agents recovered a handgun with a partially obliterated serial number along with communications documenting the plan.
- Loadholt has pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing in April 2026, while Shakeri remains at large as the Justice Department characterizes the case as part of Iran’s transnational repression.