Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, who law enforcement officials said are both US citizens from Pennsylvania, are accused of trying to use improvised explosive devices at an anti-Islam demonstration and a counterprotest near Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s home Saturday. No device exploded.<\/p>\n
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A man identified by authorities as Emir Balat is seen with a flaming device at the scene of an anti-Islam protest and counterdemonstration Saturday. – Eduardo Munoz\/Reuters<\/p>\n
When speaking to investigators, both suspects cited ISIS<\/a>, a terrorist group that has seen a resurgence in recent years<\/a>, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court Monday.<\/p>\n The two are charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization; use of a weapon of mass destruction; transportation of explosive materials; unlawful possession of destructive devices; and interstate transportation and receipt of explosives.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent foreign terrorist organization,\u201d New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday.<\/p>\n The incident happened during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan as anti-Islam protesters and counterprotesters squared off near Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral home in New York City. Mamdani is the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor.<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the attack \u201cabsolutely despicable\u201d in remarks Tuesday.<\/p>\n Leavitt cited an FBI investigation into the attack and charges brought against the two suspects by the Department of Justice and the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, saying: \u201cI know they won\u2019t rest until justice is sought in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n Emir Balat, a high school senior from Pennsylvania, is arrested outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday. – Madison Swart\/Reuters<\/p>\n As authorities probe the suspects\u2019 possible ties to ISIS, here\u2019s what we know about the investigation:<\/p>\n How authorities say the attack unfolded<\/p>\n An anti-Islam protest organized by right-wing influencer Jake Lang<\/a> attracted about 20 people on Saturday. It was soon dwarfed by a counterprotest called \u201cDrive the Nazis Out of New York,\u201d which peaked at about 125 participants, Tisch said.<\/p>\n The groups stayed in designated areas, but tensions escalated when a protester from Lang\u2019s group pepper-sprayed counterprotesters around 12:15 p.m., the police commissioner said.<\/p>\n Twenty minutes later, Balat \u201cthrew an ignited device toward the protest area,\u201d which landed on a crosswalk, Tisch said. Video showed protesters and police quickly scatter to avoid the device.<\/p>\n \u201cWitnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,\u201d the commissioner said.<\/p>\n Balat then retrieved a second device from Kayumi before lighting it and starting to run, the complaint said. He dropped the second device on the street where several police officers were standing, and he ran, according to the complaint. The device appeared to emit smoke but also did not explode, according to Tisch.<\/p>\n Police officers soon tackled and arrested Balat, and Kayumi also was arrested at the scene, the complaint said.<\/p>\n The anti-Islam protester accused of using pepper spray was also arrested, and three others were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic Tisch said.<\/p>\n Mamdani said he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were not home during the time of the protest.<\/p>\n Suspects are a high school senior and another teen from Pennsylvania<\/p>\n Balat and Kayumi are both from Pennsylvania, authorities said. Balat is a 12th-grade student at Neshaminy School District, a district spokesperson told CNN.<\/p>\n They both independently told investigators they were inspired by ISIS, authorities said.<\/p>\n Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, is arrested by New York City police outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday. – Madison Swart\/Reuters<\/p>\n As Kayumi was being placed into an NYPD vehicle, an officer\u2019s body-worn camera captured someone asking why he had done this. The 19-year-old responded with \u201cISIS,\u201d the complaint said.<\/p>\n After waiving his Miranda rights, Kayumi also told authorities he watched ISIS propaganda on his phone, and his actions were partly inspired by the terrorist group, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n When Balat was placed in a separate police car, he made statements without being questioned, Tisch said. An officer\u2019s body-worn camera captured him saying, \u201cThis isn\u2019t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the Prophet. We take action \u2026 If I didn\u2019t do it someone else will come and do it,\u201d according to the complaint.<\/p>\n When he arrived at the precinct, Balat also waived his Miranda rights and requested a piece of paper, where he wrote that he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and \u201cDie in your rage yu (sic) kuffar!\u201d the complaint said. \u201cKuffar\u201d is an Arabic term that refers to \u201cnon-believers\u201d or \u201cinfidels,\u201d an FBI agent wrote in the complaint.<\/p>\n FBI agents and the NYPD Bomb Squad investigated a suspicious car and deployed bomb robots near Gracie Mansion. – Kyle Mazza\/Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n An officer asked Balat if he knew about the Boston Marathon bombings<\/a> and if that was what he wanted to accomplish, the complaint said. Balat responded: \u201cNo, even bigger. It was only three deaths,\u201d the court document states.<\/p>\n Neither of the men had prior criminal histories, Tisch said.<\/p>\n The suspects were not previously known to federal authorities, a law enforcement official briefed on the case told CNN.<\/p>\n Investigators still are trying to determine whether the pair had any level of training or engagement with ISIS, but one of the materials used to make the IED \u2013 a mason jar \u2013 points to a lack of sophisticated training, the official added.<\/p>\n Balat\u2019s attorney, Mehdi Essmidi, told CNN he\u2019s \u201cstill trying to figure out\u201d how his client \u201ceven came to be in New York to be involved in this.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no indication Balat had a relationship with Kayumi prior to Saturday\u2019s incident, as the pair didn\u2019t have prior school, family or work ties, Essmidi said.<\/p>\n Balat, a US citizen, turned 18 two months ago and lives at home with his parents in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a small suburb about an hour north of Philadelphia, his attorney said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know the family was very surprised by what happened,\u201d Essmidi said. He said a search warrant was executed at Balat\u2019s home, and the family has been cooperating with law enforcement.<\/p>\n Kayumi\u2019s attorney, Michael Arthus, declined to comment to CNN.<\/p>\n Both suspects were remanded to federal custody and are being held without bail after the initial court appearance Monday. They are scheduled to appear in court on April 8.<\/p>\n Makeshift bombs contained nuts and bolts, authorities say<\/p>\n The two devices recovered from Saturday\u2019s protest were \u201ceach approximately the size of a mason jar\u201d and each had an attached fuse, the complaint said. They also had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, with everything surrounded by duct tape, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n The device thrown into the crowd of protesters tested positive for an explosive substance called TATP, also known as the \u201cMother of Satan,\u201d court documents said. The second device is still being analyzed.<\/p>\n Images released by the Department of Justice show the inside of a homemade bomb found Saturday. – US Southern District of NY\/DOJ<\/p>\n Bomb technicians from the NYPD and FBI performed controlled detonations of the two IEDs, which resulted in a \u201csignificant explosion,\u201d said Rebecca Weiner, NYPD\u2019s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really important to note that had these IEDs functioned the way the perpetrators allegedly wanted them to, they could have caused death, destruction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A third device found Sunday is being investigated \u201cin connection with\u201d Saturday\u2019s incident, NYPD said. That device tested negative for explosive material, Tisch said.<\/p>\n After Balat was arrested Saturday, authorities found a car several blocks away from Gracie Mansion that was registered to Balat\u2019s family member and was captured moving across the George Washington Bridge into New York City at 11:36 a.m., the complaint said.<\/p>\n Police found in the car \u201ca coiled green material consistent in appearance with hobby fuse,\u201d an empty metal can similar to one found in one of the devices, and a notebook that said \u201cTATP explosive\u201d and listed chemical ingredients, the complaint said.<\/p>\n Surveillance video shows Balat shopping at a firework store in Pennsylvania days before the incident, according to Phantom Fireworks. Bill Weimer, the company vice president and general counsel, told CNN the video appears to show Balat signaling for an employee, who under state law are required to scan a customer\u2019s identification to prove they are over 18.<\/p>\n Balat purchased a 20-foot consumer firework safety fuse for $6.89 on March 2, Weimer said. He was then seen in the footage checking out and exiting the store.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sell consumer fireworks only, used in the backyards,\u201d Weimer said, so it would have been the \u201cwrong materials\u201d for creating an explosive device, he added.<\/p>\n Weimer described the purchase as \u201ca totally unremarkable sale.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody comes in and buys one role of a fuse like this fella did, nobody there would have thought anything of it,\u201d Weimer said, adding he\u2019s not sure whether the salesperson remembers making the sale.<\/p>\n Following news of the incident and learning the suspects\u2019 names, Weimer said the company checked its records to see if either of the suspects had shopped there before. The company contacted the FBI, which then sent a subpoena asking for the sales record and video footage, he added.<\/p>\n Authorities say they\u2019ve found more explosives in a storage facility<\/p>\n As the investigation expanded to the suspects\u2019 home state, authorities discovered explosives at a storage facility in Pennsylvania\u2019s Bucks County, local authorities told CNN on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Investigators\u2019 current theory is the suspects used the facility to build explosive devices, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter.<\/p>\n The FBI \u201csafely disposed of explosive materials\u201d found, Middleton Township police said. The township is in Bucks County, where both suspects are from.<\/p>\n While the controlled detonations caused \u201cseveral loud bangs\u201d that may have been startling, \u201cthere was no danger to the public at any time,\u201d police said. Before township police released details about the detonations, the FBI had said<\/a> Monday night it was searching the storage facility in connection with the New York City case.<\/p>\n Mamdani denounces violence<\/p>\n The mayor, who has received verbal attacks for his religion, defended his faith and denounced any form of violence.<\/p>\n \u201cExtremism and hatred of any kind will not be tolerated in our city, and that is regardless of whatever ideology motivates any person to commit an act of violence,\u201d Mamdani said at a news conference Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter the attempts, I will never be ashamed of who I am. I\u2019ll never be ashamed of my faith. I\u2019ll never be ashamed of the things that make me me,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have a city where no one feels as if they have to fit themselves into a box in order to be able to live in the place they call home.\u201d<\/p>\n More than an hour after Mamdani spoke Tuesday, police investigated a suspicious package near Gracie Mansion<\/a>. It was not immediately clear whether the package \u2014 later determined by police to be non-threatening \u2014 was linked to devices found over the weekend and the subsequent terror investigation.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s Hanna Park, Danny E. Freeman, Brynn Gingras, Jason Hanna, Sara Smart, John Miller, Karina Tsui, Cindy Von Quednow, Sharif Paget, Samantha Waldenberg, Taylor Galgano and Katherine Koretski contributed to this report.<\/p>\n![\"Emir](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a6f402440fda4afbd44285625126ae7b.jpeg\"\/)
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