New York City man sentenced to 10 years in plot to kill Iranian American writer
A former truck and bus driver accused in an assassination plot against an Iranian American writer the Iranian government allegedly targeted was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison by a federal judge.
Judge Lewis J. Liman handed down the sentence in Manhattan federal court to Jonathan Loadholt, 37, of Staten Island, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit stalking and money laundering tied to a 2024 plot targeting Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn.
James Barnacle, head of the FBI’s New York office, said Loadholt was recruited by Iran to surveil Alinejad and ultimately assassinate her, but was arrested first. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Loadholt, a U.S. citizen, was motivated by greed. He also said Iran “tried to silence Ms. Alinejad because of her efforts to stand up to the Iranian regime and expose its discriminatory treatment of women, corruption, and human rights abuses.”
Defense lawyers sought leniency, arguing a “reckless and senseless decision made at the behest of a friend” cost Loadholt his job, freedom, and years with his family. They said he was never directly asked to commit murder and was largely unaware of the full plan, though he “clearly understood the potential for serious violence.”
In a letter to the judge, Loadholt said he was “very ashamed” and that “it was wrong on every level.”
In January, Loadholt’s friend, Carlisle Rivera, apologized in court before he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being involved in the plot.
Alinejad left Iran in 2009 after the disputed presidential election and moved to the U. Alinejad, a CBS News contributor, became a U.S. citizen in 2019. She has traveled the world speaking to women and encouraging others to join her movement for women’s freedom of expression, particularly those in Iran. She testified last year in a separate kidnapping and murder plot case, where prosecutors said Iran put a $500,000 bounty on her. Two defendants were convicted and sentenced to 25 years.
