The men said nothing during the brief proceeding, but Kayumi smirked and looked over at Balat as the judge read part of the complaint that said that they were acting in support of the Islamic State group. Balat stared ahead at the defense table.<\/p>\n
According to the complaint, Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that \u201cISIS\u201d was the reason for his conduct. Balat, 18, later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremist group, and Kayumi, 19, asserted that he was affiliated with the Islamic State group, the complaint said.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, even bigger,\u201d Balat replied, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n Attorney General highlights the case<\/p>\n US Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on social media that authorities \u201cwill not allow ISIS\u2019s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n In court, Kayumi\u2019s lawyer, Michael Arthus, pointed to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and asked that prosecutors avoid saying anything that could prejudice potential jurors.<\/p>\n Balat\u2019s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside the court that his client was three classes away from graduating from high school.<\/p>\n \t An automated license plate reader captured the suspects \u2014 both Pennsylvania residents \u2014 entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the noontime attack, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n Kayumi\u2019s mother filed a missing person report, saying she last saw Kayumi around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n The suspects\u2019 vehicle \u2014 registered to one of Balat\u2019s relatives \u2014 was discovered Sunday, a few blocks from where they were arrested. A search of the car turned up a fuse and a metal can, along with a written list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives, the complaint said.<\/p>\n No ties to Iran war are identified<\/p>\n Speaking outside the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, on Monday morning, Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi \u201ctraveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.\u201d Mamdani and his wife weren\u2019t home during the protest.<\/p>\n Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there are no indications that the men\u2019s alleged activities were connected to the ongoing war in Iran. The Islamic State is a group of Sunni extremists; Iran\u2019s population is almost entirely Shiite, the other main religious community within Islam.<\/p>\n While Mamdani and Tisch briefed reporters Monday, Lang heckled from outside the Gracie Mansion gates.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, police have searched a home in eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s Middletown Township, and a separate federal investigation was underway in nearby Newtown, local police said.<\/p>\n The attack unfolded in a chaotic scene<\/p>\n Lang\u2019s sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators. Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the explosive TATP into the crowd, the complaint said. It also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, the complaint said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \t The scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam protest, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after pepper-spraying counterprotesters. McGinnis, of Philadelphia, was released without bond after pleading not guilty Sunday to assault and aggravated harassment in a New York court, records show. A message seeking comment was left Monday for his attorney.<\/p>\n Three others were taken into custody but were released without charges.<\/p>\n After the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US 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\u2019s sweeping act of clemency. Lang recently announced that he is running for US Senate in Florida.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, he organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters who quickly chased him away.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFar right influencer Jake Lang, wearing green, stands with his supporters during an anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Manison, March 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Julius Constantine Motal)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26068669032765-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPolice detain Emir Balat after he attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device during a counterprotest against far right influencer Jake Lang staging an anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Mansion, March 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Julius Constantine Motal)<\/p>\n
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