Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad on Monday was informed that a man armed with an AK-47-style rifle was arrested in the Brooklyn neighborhood where she lives with her family.
The FBI is investigating whether the man in custody was there as part of a possible plot to assassinate her, two law enforcement sources said, NBC News reported.
Alinejad tweeted security video that shows a large man on her porch trying to open a door.
"My crime is giving voice to voiceless people," she tweeted.
Khalid Mehdiyev of Yonkers, New York, was arrested Thursday near the woman's residence by New York City Police for allegedly driving with a suspended license, according to the affidavit filed Friday along with a criminal complaint, NBC News reported.
Last year, the journalist was targeted in an alleged kidnapping plot by Iranian nationals after she spoke out against the Islamic republic.
The Voice of America Persian Service host said at the time that she believed the government wanted to shut down her social media voice.
Iran’s Islamist rulers "not only wanted to make sure that I physically didn’t exist anymore, they also wanted to destroy my Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp channels," she said in a video message distributed by VOA.
Iran has denied the 2021 allegation, calling it "baseless."
In an interview with CNN, Alinejad said the Iranian government had been targeting her and her family for her efforts to give voice to those being oppressed in Iran.
"I'm not scared [for] my life at all because I know what I’m doing. I have only one life, and I dedicated my life to give voice to Iranian people inside Iran who bravely go to the streets and face guns and bullets to protest against Iranian regime – but this is happening in America," she said.
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