Journalist Masih Alinejad, a former reporter in Iran, now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. She left Iran a week before the 2009 elections to study abroad and stayed away after the unrest and crackdown on the reformist press. The powers that be in Iran want her dead.

A New York federal court on Friday announced an indictment charging three men with murder-for-hire and money laundering charges for plotting the assassination of a U.S. citizen targeted by the Iranian government. All three men are associated with an Eastern European criminal organization. They are in custody and will stand trial, as confirmed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. She was not immediately named as the victim but Fox News confirmed it was Masih Alinejad. She was the target of a 2021 kidnapping plot that was stopped by the FBI, too.

“The Victim is a journalist, author, and human rights activist, residing in Brooklyn, New York, who has publicized the Government of Iran’s human rights abuses and suppression of political expression, including in connection with continuing protests against the regime across Iran,” he said.

Officials said the assassination plot was the second attempt by Iran to target an American citizen after the FBI thwarted a 2021 kidnapping attempt by Tehran to try and forcibly bring the journalist back to Iran.

Dear Masih Jan @AlinejadMasih keep up your courageous fight for democracy and freedom in Iran. You are a strong and important voice for women’s right in Iran✊🏽Looking forward to meet you soon. pic.twitter.com/LbQRgIwyLv

— Masud Gharahkhani (@MasudGh) January 28, 2023

Like the women and men in #Iran risking their lives for #womenlifefreedom, my dear friend @AlinejadMasih is a true hero. She will not be silenced in raising her voice for the people of #Iran regardless of how many hitmen are hired to kill her. All my respect and solidarity. https://t.co/HkF4PsS6MZ

— Bernard-Henri Lévy (@BHL) January 28, 2023

Those arrested are from Iran, Czech Republic and Slovenia, and Yonkers, N.Y.

Rafat Amirov, 43, of Iran; Polad Omarov, 38, of the Czech Republic and Slovenia; and Khalid Mehdiyev, 24, of Yonkers, New York, were all named and arrested in carrying out the plot.

Details were not provided on which criminal group was in on the attempted attack but officials did note that Amirov, who lived in Iran, and Omarov, who lived in Eastern Europe, held leadership roles in the organization.

Alinejad posted a video on Twitter calling on the United States to take action against Iran. “If we don’t take strong action right now, we will face these terrorists on U.S. soil, more and more.”

I just learned from 12 FBI agents that the 3 men hired by the Iranian regime to kill me on US soil have been indicted. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards have been conducting these terrorist operations for four decades.
Islamic Republic is ISIS with oil. #WomanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/T9Hbp0iwG3

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 27, 2023

The three men were hired to murder Alinejad after the kidnapping plot was foiled by the FBI. The next step was to just go directly to murdering her instead of kidnapping her and taking her back to Iran.

In 2020 and 2021, the FBI was able to thwart an attempt to kidnap Alinejad plotted by officials in Iran, the Justice Department said.

The three individuals began surveilling Alinejad in July 2022, and shortly after, Amirov and Omarov planned to provide Mehdiyev with $30,000, which was used to purchase “an AK-47-style assault rifle along with two magazines for ammunition and at least 66 rounds.”

According to the Justice Department, throughout July 2022, the individuals conducted repeated surveillance of Alinejad. However, on July 28, 2022, Alinejad observed “suspicious activity” outside her residence and left.

“After Mehdiyev drove away from the Victim’s residence, he was stopped after a traffic violation, and during a subsequent search of the car, police officers found the assault rifle, 66 rounds of ammunition, approximately $1,100 in cash, and a black ski mask,” the press release said.

Iranian officials want to stop her from reporting, to stifle her First Amendment rights as an American. The authoritarian regime in Iran is willing to kill her to stop her reporting on Iranian current events and the anti-regime protests. Let’s hope Alinejad’s luck doesn’t run out. She’s a brave woman.

In this historical moment when Iranians have risen up against dictatorship, let's breathe new life into the revolution with an alliance. The first women's revolution the world has ever seen will be won because we are unified. #WomanLifeFreedompic.twitter.com/GKqclaFejk

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 27, 2023