Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Assassination Plot Against Iranian American Journalist

Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad speaks outside Manhattan federal court after the sentencing of a man who admitted to agreeing to try to kill her on behalf of the Iranian regime, in New York on Jan. 28, 2026. Larry Neumeister/AP Photo

NEW YORK—A federal judge gave a man would-be assassin the maximum 15 years in prison Wednesday for plotting to kill an Iranian American writer on behalf of Tehran after hearing the woman who was targeted describe multiple attempts on her life as threats against all Americans.

Judge Lewis J. Liman said Carlisle Rivera’s written conversations as he plotted to kill journalist and human rights advocate Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn in 2024 were “chilling” and he inflicted “great harm” on her and her husband.