UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — Authorities are investigating whether the men who brought improvised explosive devices to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral residence were inspired by ISIS, New York City’s police commissioner said Monday.
The devices, which did not explode, were hurled during raucous counterprotests Saturday near Gracie Mansion during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event led by the far right activist Jake Lang.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the explosives could have caused serious injury or death.
“This is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” Tisch said.
The two men who allegedly carried the devices are charged in a five-count federal complaint with attempting to provide support to ISIS, use of a weapon of mass destruction and other charges.
A third device, found in a vehicle on East End Avenue, did not test positive for explosives, the commissioner said.
Police say the explosive used is commonly known by the nickname “Mother of Satan” because of how dangerous it is.
Investigators continue to search the suspects’ homes as well as a storage facility.
Lucy Yang has more on the suspects, who police say both claimed they were inspired by ISIS.
The suspects, identified as 18-year-old Emir Balat, a high school student, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, both from Pennsylvania, are accused of throwing and igniting two objects, one of which was confirmed to be an IED.
As they were walked out of a police precinct on Monday morning, Balat apparently made a hand gesture that shows support for ISIS.
Police say both suspects claimed they were inspired by ISIS.
In court papers, Kayumi allegedly told police “…that he was affiliated with ISIS; watched ISIS propaganda on his phone; and was partly inspired to carry out his actions that day by ISIS.”
Balat allegedly claimed “…that they wanted to carry out an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which Balat noted caused only ‘three deaths.'”
Mayor Mamdani said he and his wife were at a museum at the time of the incident. Investigators say the first couple were not targets in the incident.
“Let me say this plainly: Anyone who comes to New York City to bring violence to our streets will be held accountable in accordance with the law,” Mamdani said.
The mayor specifically cited the “courageous and selfless” acts of two NYPD officers, Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro, who attended Monday’s news conference. Mamdani said the officers “ran towards the danger so that others could run safely.”
A federal magistrate ordered both men held without bail following their brief appearance. The two men appeared in white Tyvek suits, seated at the same defense table, separated by their attorneys.
The young men were shackled and said nothing other than answering a basic question or two. They did not enter a plea.
Balat was represented by attorney Mehdi Essimidi. He said of his client — “I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said 1,000 members of the National Guard are patrolling sensitive locations around New York City.
“I will be clear, violence inspired by hate is intolerable, it’s not who we are as New Yorkers, and those responsible for this should bear the full weight of the law and the justice system upon them,” Hochul said. “And let’s be clear also, the Islamophobic protests that triggered all this is is abhorrent. It’s against our values as New Yorkers. So, you know, we condemn both. Neither belongs in New York, the reaction to the protest or the protest itself.”
Police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI, which has assigned agents with the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force to the investigation.
The explosives tested positive for TATP – a dangerous and highly volatile chemical used in IED attacks around the world. The devices are being sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for additional testing.
Tisch said the last incident in New York City in which an IED was deployed occurred in December 2017, when Akayed Ullah detonated a homemade bomb he had strapped to his torso in a pedestrian underpass connecting the Port Authority Bus Terminal to the Time Square subway station.
(The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.)
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