Two Pennsylvania men face federal terrorism charges after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices during dueling protests near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's residence at Gracie Mansion on Saturday, Mar. 8.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, both from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, were charged with five federal counts, including attempting to provide material support to ISIS, use of a weapon of mass destruction, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. Both were ordered held without bail after their initial court appearance on Monday.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the incident is being investigated as "an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism." According to the federal criminal complaint, both men pledged allegiance to ISIS following their arrest, and Balat allegedly told authorities he wanted to carry out an attack "even bigger" than the Boston Marathon bombing, according to CNN.
The incident unfolded around noon during an anti-Islam protest organized by far-right activist Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion. About 20 demonstrators attended Lang's event, while more than 120 counterprotesters gathered nearby.
Tensions escalated when a member of Lang's group allegedly used pepper spray on counterprotesters. Approximately 20 minutes later, Balat allegedly ignited and threw a jar-sized device toward the protest area, which struck a barrier in a crosswalk and extinguished itself just feet from police officers.
Balat then retrieved a second device from Kayumi, lit it, and ran before dropping it on the street, Tisch said. Officers tackled Balat and arrested both men at the scene, Just the News reported.
The NYPD bomb squad determined the devices were jars wrapped in black tape, filled with nuts, bolts, and screws, and fitted with hobby fuses. At least one contained triacetone triperoxide, a volatile homemade explosive commonly used in IEDs.
A third device was found Sunday in a vehicle parked blocks from Gracie Mansion, but it tested negative for explosives. Mayor Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, said he and his wife were not home at the time of the attack.
Six people were arrested in total, including the two suspects, the person who used pepper spray, and three others on disorderly conduct charges. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the ongoing investigation, as per ABC7.
