Alinejad was the target of an alleged kidnapping plot last year by Iranian nationals after speaking out against the Iranian regime. The indictment in that case alleged that the plot was organized by an Iranian intelligence official, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied any involvement, calling the allegation “baseless and ridiculous,” according to Iran’s semi-official state media.
Alinejad said she was at home Thursday when federal agents informed her about the gunman.
“The FBI told me to stay away from my house,” Alinejad told CNN by phone Sunday. “I was shocked. I couldn’t even believe it. I was like, ‘if I opened the door, what would I do?’
NYPD officers arrested Khalid Mehdiyev on Thursday afternoon as he drove away from a Brooklyn neighborhood after failing to stop at a stop sign, according to a federal criminal complaint obtained by CNN. NYPD officers are also said to have determined he was driving without a valid license. Law enforcement officers later found a suitcase in the backseat of his vehicle containing an AK-47-style assault rifle loaded with a round in the chamber, an additional second magazine and $1,100 in $100 bills, according to the complaint.
He is charged with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Mehdiyev is due back in court on August 12. CNN reached out to his attorney, Stephanie Marie Karvlin, for comment, but did not hear back.
Law enforcement officials say they saw Mehdiyev, a Yonkers resident, in the Brooklyn neighborhood twice last week, Wednesday and Thursday, and also discovered he had been issued a parking ticket in the same neighborhood the weekend before, on July 23 , according to the complaint.
On Thursday morning, Mehdiev was driving a gray Subaru Forester SUV with Illinois license plates and remained in the area for several hours, where he was “behaving suspiciously,” the complaint states. On one occasion, Mehdiev got in and out of his car several times, ordered a food delivery service to his car and approached a home in the neighborhood where Alinejad lives, peering through windows and trying to open the front door, according to the complaint.
Alinejad says she was on a Zoom call with Human Rights Foundation chairman Garry Kasparov and Venezuelan politician and opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez when she found out about the gunman.
“I’m glad my friend @Alinejad Masih is safe and sound and that the police acted capably against what could have been a deadly situation,” Kasparov tweeted from his verified account on Sunday.
The activist shared a security video on her official Twitter account of the man, who she said federal agents told her was the same man arrested by police on Thursday.
“This is the scary footage of a man who tried to enter my house in New York with a loaded gun to kill me,” she tweeted, although no gun is visible in the image. “Last year, the FBI prevented the Islamic Republic from kidnapping me. My crime is to give a voice to the voiceless. The US administration must be tough on terrorism.”
Alinejad says she has spoken monthly with federal agents since the alleged kidnapping attempt last year.
“I really thought the plot was over. I thought, ‘OK, I can focus on my work’ – which I’m going to do, nothing’s going to stop me,” she said.
“I see this as a continuation of trying to keep Iranian women down,” the activist told CNN.
Alinejad, who often shares photos and videos of what she says are “voiceless” Iranian women through her social media accounts, says Iranian officials have recently warned her to continue her activism.
A spokesman for Iran’s Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced in July that anyone who sends Alinejad videos about the hijab or engages in other anti-government activities faces up to 10 years in prison.
“This is the 21st century: enough is enough,” Alinejad said. “I left my country, Iran, to be safe, to be the voice of the voiceless. This is my crime. I want to enjoy the freedom of expression as an American.”
CNN’s Liam Reilly contributed to this report.
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