US charges 3 in plot to kill Iranian-American author in NYC

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ELLEN KNICKMEYER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged three men in an alleged plot that originated in Iran to kill an Iranian American author and activist who has spoken out against human rights abuses. The men were charged with money laundering and murder-for-hire in a superseding indictment unsealed in federal court in New York. Masih Alinejad, an Iranian opposition activist and writer in exile in New York City, confirmed to The Associated Press that she was the intended target. She said FBI officials had read her the messages that the plotters exchanged between themselves, including a final one: “It’s going to be done today.”