NEW YORK (TNND) — Two men who attempted to detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion on Saturday said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, according to a federal court complaint.
Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, shouted “ISIS” while being arrested, the complaint states. Emir Balat, 18, later told authorities he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Kayumi also said he was affiliated with ISIS, watched its propaganda on his phone and was partly inspired by the group to carry out the attack.
“Balat additionally stated that they wanted to carry out an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which Balat noted caused only ‘three deaths,’” officials wrote in the complaint.
Balat and Kayumi are awaiting arraignment on charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday that the case is being investigated as ISIS-inspired terrorism.
According to the complaint, the men traveled from Pennsylvania, and an automated license plate reader captured their vehicle entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the attack. The car, registered to one of Balat’s relatives, was found on Sunday, a few blocks from where they were arrested. A search of the vehicle turned up a hobby fuse, a metal can and a written list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said there is a video showing the two men throwing devices toward the protest. “They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” Mamdani said Monday. Police determined the devices were improvised explosive devices designed to injure or kill.
Tisch said the devices were real and potentially lethal, containing explosive material including TATP (triacetone triperoxide), a volatile substance used in terrorist attacks. A third suspicious device was later found in the vehicle, but it tested negative for explosive material.
Authorities said there is no evidence linking the incident at the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest to overseas conflicts, including hostilities involving Iran. No prior credible threats from the suspects had been identified, and investigators do not believe additional individuals were involved.
IEDs Emir Balat and Kayumi had in their possession (Southern District of New York)
According to the complaint, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the TATP into the crowd. It also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts.
The device extinguished itself steps from police officers. According to the complaint, Balat then ran down the block and collected a second, similar device from Kayumi, dropped it near some police officers and tried to run away, the complaint said. Police tackled Balat and soon arrested him and Kayumi.
Police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI, including agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said state police have increased their presence at sensitive sites across New York, and more than 1,000 members of the National Guard remain deployed on state active duty protecting critical transit sites.
Mamdani praised the swift actions of NYPD officers, particularly Chief Aaron Edwards and Sergeant Luis Navarro, who ran toward the danger to protect civilians. The city remains in a heightened state of alert with increased counterterrorism deployments.
“Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism,” Mamdani said in a Sunday statement on X. “Such hate has no place in New York City.”
“What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” he added. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
Lang is a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.
After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Lang was charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes. He was later freed from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.
Earlier this year, he organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters who quickly chased him away.
Attorney General Pam Bondi declared on social media, “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.”
“FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force continues to investigate with @NYPD. Multiple search warrants have been executed, and we will keep the public updated as able.As always: thank you to law enforcement everywhere for your bravery and vigilance. And thank you to @TheJusticeDept @AGPamBondi for your quick movement in this case,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X.
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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.