{"id":116008,"date":"2026-01-29T04:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T04:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116008\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T04:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T04:19:08","slug":"would-be-assassin-gets-15-years-for-nyc-plot-against-iraninan-american-journalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116008\/","title":{"rendered":"Would-be assassin gets 15 years for NYC plot against Iraninan-American journalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal judge gave a would-be assassin the maximum 15 years in prison Wednesday for plotting to kill an Iranian American writer on behalf of Tehran<\/a> after hearing the woman who was targeted describe multiple attempts on her life as threats against all Americans.<\/p>\n

Judge Lewis J. Liman said Carlisle Rivera\u2019s written conversations as he plotted to kill journalist and human rights advocate Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024 were \u201cchilling\u201d and he inflicted \u201cgreat harm\u201d on her and her husband.<\/p>\n

Addressing the court, the couple described how assassination plots forced them to limit interactions with their children as they frequently changed residences and dodged threats from an unrelenting Iran.<\/p>\n

Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad speaks outside Manhattan federal court after the sentencing of a man who admitted to agreeing to try to kill her on behalf of the Iranian government Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in New York. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a woman,\u201d Alinejad said. \u201cMy weapon is my voice. My weapon is my social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged the judge to give Rivera the maximum sentence to send a message to anyone \u201ctargeting U.S. citizens on U.S. soil\u201d and to \u201cprotect unarmed people like me now facing massacre in my country.\u201d<\/p>\n

People in Iran, Alinejad said, are \u201cfacing guns and bullets \u2026 to protect the global security,\u201d including for Americans.<\/p>\n

Before the sentence was announced, Rivera, 51, told the judge: \u201cI\u2019m deeply sorry for my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Masih Alinejad holds a sunflower behind Polad Omarov and Radar Amirov, who were convicted of involvement in an unsuccessful Iran-backed plot to kill her, as they attend their sentencing at federal court in New York, U.S., October 29, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Outside the Manhattan federal courthouse<\/a>, Alinejad said the United States must be careful to not let indiscriminate killings happening in Iran spread to the U.S. As she spoke she held up a computer tablet and showed reporters video clips of body bags of some of the thousands of Iranians killed during recent protests.<\/p>\n

Alinejad said she hoped President Donald Trump would go after Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei like he did Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who was seized in a January U.S. military raid and brought to face drug trafficking charges in New York. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am calling on President Trump. Take action. Removing terrorists is not tragedy. It\u2019s a sign of justice,\u201d Alinejad said. She added, however, that she does not want Iran bombed \u2014 just the removal of its leaders.<\/p>\n

She noted that U.S. authorities have said Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard was responsible for not only multiple plots against her life but also a plot against Trump.<\/p>\n

Alinejad said she hoped President Donald Trump would go after Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei like he did Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. William Miller<\/p>\n

Alinejad left Iran in 2009 following the country\u2019s disputed presidential election and moved to the United States, where she launched online campaigns to encourage Iranian women to pose for pictures and videos showing their hair in defiance of a religious rule requiring headscarves.<\/p>\n

An author and contributor to the Voice of America and CBS News, Alinejad became<\/a> a citizen in 2019. She has traveled the world speaking to women and encouraging others to join her movement for women\u2019s freedom of expression, particularly those in Iran.<\/p>\n

Last year she testified at the trial of two men charged with plotting to kidnap her from her Brooklyn home and kill her in 2022. A prosecutor said Iran put a $500,000 bounty on her head. The defendants, both natives of Azerbaijan, were convicted and sentenced to 25 years.<\/p>\n

Iranian-American journalist, author, and political activist, Masih Alinejad speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Iran at the request of the United States at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., January 15, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

In November 2024 the Justice Department accused Tehran of authorizing a murder-for-hire plot against Trump days before he won reelection. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson reportedly denied the allegation. The person who tried to hire killers to go after Trump also organized the plot against Alinejad, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Intelligence officials have said Iran opposed Trump\u2019s reelection. Trump\u2019s first administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act that prompted Iran\u2019s leaders to vow revenge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

In court Wednesday, a prosecutor said Rivera was supposed to surveil Alinejad\u2019s planned February 2024 appearance at Fairfield University in Connecticut, an event that was canceled. Afterward, according to court papers, Rivera tried for months to surveil Alinejad at a Brooklyn home where she no longer lived.<\/p>\n

During a break in the proceeding, Alinejad approached Rivera\u2019s fiancee, who sobbed as she hugged Alinejad, telling her: \u201cI\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the courthouse afterward, Alinejad said she told the woman: \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m fighting for you, I\u2019m fighting for all Americans \u2026 when I asked President Trump to try to get the killers.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge gave a would-be assassin the maximum 15 years in prison Wednesday for plotting to kill…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8307,98,19809,57,9,56,63,65,64,3209,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-116008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-assassinations","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-journalists","11":"tag-metro","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-sentencing","18":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}