Carlisle Rivera was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges in what prosecutors describe as an Iran-backed murder-for-hire and stalking plot targeting journalist Masih Alinejad. Alinejad, who left Iran in 2009, is a vocal critic of Iran's compulsory head-covering laws and has a large social media following. The Justice Department framed the case as part of efforts to combat "transnational repression," while Iran has denied the allegations. Other individuals tied to the alleged scheme have also been convicted in the U.S.
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Alleged Iran-Backed Plot to Kill Dissident Masih Alinejad
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/Eduardo Munoz
WASHINGTON — A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty for his role in what U.S. prosecutors say was an Iran-backed murder-for-hire plot targeting Iranian dissident and journalist Masih Alinejad, the Justice Department said.
Case Details
Carlisle Rivera, also known as "Pop," previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking. The pleas were entered before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Liman of the Southern District of New York, who imposed the 15-year sentence.
Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009, is a longtime critic of Iran's compulsory head-covering laws and has used social media to amplify videos showing women defying those rules to her millions of followers. Prosecutors say she was living in Brooklyn when the alleged plot was planned.
Federal Context
The Justice Department described the prosecution as part of a broader effort to confront "transnational repression" — efforts by authoritarian governments to target political opponents on foreign soil. Prosecutors allege members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intelligence services repeatedly sought to target Alinejad.
Iran has dismissed the accusations as baseless. The Justice Department noted that other defendants tied to the same alleged plot have also been convicted and sentenced in U.S. courts.
Note: Rivera's sentencing is part of an ongoing U.S. investigation into plots allegedly directed by foreign operatives against dissidents living in the United States.
Help us improve.
