Authorities have arrested a man with a loaded AK-47 outside the Brooklyn home of an Iranian journalist and were behaving "suspiciously," forcing her to flee.
The journalist, identified as activist Masih Alinejad, was living at her Brooklyn home with the rest of her family. She was targeted in an alleged kidnapping plot last year by Iranian nationals after speaking out against the Iranian regime.
Iranian Journalist Threatened
The indictment in that previous case alleged that the plot was organized by an Iranian intelligence official. However, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any involvement, calling the accusations "baseless and ridiculous."
Alinejad said that she was at her Brooklyn home on Thursday when federal agents informed her about the armed man. She said that authorities told her to keep away from her home and was immediately shocked, wondering what she would even do if she opened the door.
On Thursday afternoon, New York Police Department (NYPD) officers arrested the suspect, identified as Khalid Mehdiyev, as he was driving away from the Brooklyn neighborhood. It was after he failed to stop at a stop sign, said a federal criminal complaint, as per CNN.
NYPD officers also found that the suspect was driving without a valid driver's license and they later found a suitcase in the backseat of his vehicle that contained a loaded AK-47-style assault rifle. Inside, there was also an additional second magazine and $1,100 in $100 bills.
Authorities charged the suspect with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number and are set to be back in court on Aug. 12. Mehdiyev's attorney, Stephanie Marie Carvlin, has not responded to requests for comment regarding the incident.
According to the Washington Post, while Alinejad was not identified by prosecutors, she said on Sunday that she was the target of the individual, uploading a video on Twitter that showed the man outside of her Brooklyn home. In a tweet, she said that the FBI was able to stop the kidnap attempt on her last year. She noted that her crime was giving voice to voiceless people and urged the United States administration to be tough on terror crimes.
Man With a Loaded AK-47
The criminal complaint said that Mehdiyev said that he was unaware of a gun and argued that the suitcase was not his. He told investigators that he only borrowed the vehicle and that he placed his wallet and other personal effects in the front pocket of the suitcase for "safekeeping."
Later in an interview with law enforcement officials, he said that he was in Brooklyn looking for a place to live. Mehdiyev said that he attempted to open the door of the residence to knock on an inner door to ask if the residents would rent him a room.
On the other hand, the 45-year-old journalist has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian government and the Taliban in Afghanistan. She has used her Instagram page to speak out about Iran's abuses to 7.2 million followers.
She said that she needed to be strong, noting that the Islamic Republic's goal is for women to live in fear and paranoia. Alinejad said that she wanted to use her freedom of speech in the U.S. to give others a greater voice, Yahoo News reported.
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