Counterterrorism magazine posted my online Threatcon column on the homemade bomb throwers in New York City pleading not guilty.
You can read the column via the link below or the following text:
On April 15th, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges that they attempted to detonate two explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the New York City mayor in Manhattan, and that they were acting in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The plea was surprising to me,
considering that there are clear videos of the two men hurling the homemade
bombs at anti-Islam protestors outside the mayor’s home, and there are also videos
of the two bomb throwers being tackled and arrested by NYPD officers afterwards.
Back on March 10th, the Department of Justice announced the charges against Balat and Kayumi.
“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act
of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said then-Attorney
General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American
ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain
vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest.”
Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd
Blanche added, “These men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in
service to ISIS with the hope of exceeding the carnage of the Boston Marathon
bombing, We are tremendously grateful to the brave law enforcement officers who
ran into harm’s way to apprehend these individuals and disarm the explosives
before anyone was harmed. Thanks to the quick investigative work by
federal law enforcement, this Department of Justice will prosecute these men
who pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization to the fullest
extent.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also weighed in,
“The defendants allegedly support ISIS and tried to follow the path of that
deadly group by attempting to detonate explosive devices in a crowd. The FBI
and our partners have no tolerance for terrorist organizations or those
inspired by them to engage in attacks. We are committed to stopping acts of
violence and will hold accountable those who seek to harm our citizens. I
want to commend the brave NYPD officers who took action to prevent injuries or
loss of life on the streets of New York.”
As alleged in the Complaint, On or about
March 7, 2026, a protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,
Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” and a counter-protest called “Run
Nazis Out of New York City” were held outside of Gracie Mansion.
“At approximately 12:15 p.m., Balat
ignited and threw an explosive device, Device 1, toward the area where the
protesters were gathered. Immediately after throwing Device-1, Balat ran to
another location down the block and received a second explosive device
(Device-2) from Kayumi. After apparently igniting Device-2, Balat dropped
Device-2 near where several NYPD officers were standing, ran away from the NYPD
officers, and jumped over a barricade. He was tackled and arrested by NYPD
officers shortly thereafter, as was Kayumi,” the Complaint noted.
“Following his arrest, while en route to
the NYPD precinct, Balat stated to NYPD officers: “this isn’t a religion that
just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet . . . We
take action! We take action!”; and “if I didn’t do it someone else will
come and do it.” Then, after arriving at the NYPD precinct, Balat
requested a piece of paper and, after being given a paper and pen, wrote the
following: “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my
allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic]
kuffar! Emir B.” “Kuffar” is an Arabic term that refers to “non-believers”
or “infidels,” and “Die in your rage” is a slogan used by ISIS.”
Law enforcement officers later asked
Balat if he was familiar with the Boston Marathon bombing, and if that was what
Balat had hoped to accomplish. Balat responded: “No, even bigger. It
was only three deaths.”
After Kayumi was arrested, and as he was
being placed inside an NYPD vehicle to be transported from the scene to an NYPD
precinct, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to Kayumi and asked
why Kayumi had done this. Kayumi responded, “ISIS.” Then, at the
NYPD precinct, in response to a question from law enforcement about whether he
was affiliated with ISIS, Kayumi indicated that he was. He further stated,
in substance and part, that: (i) he has watched ISIS propaganda on his phone;
(ii) his actions that day were partly inspired by ISIS; (iii) he did not feel
comfortable holding the Devices earlier that day; and (iv) he would not feel
comfortable if the Devices were in the interrogation room with him.
After Balat and Kayumi were arrested and
the Devices were secured, an FBI Special Agent Bomb Technician (SABT) conducted
a preliminary examination of the Devices and determined that they were each
approximately the size of a mason jar; that they each had an attached fuse; and
that they each had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, surrounded by duct
tape. A preliminary analysis of Device-1, the device that Balat threw into
the crowd of protesters, showed that it contained TATP, a highly volatile
explosive that is colloquially known as the “Mother of Satan” and
extremely sensitive to impact, friction, and heat. TATP has been used in
multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade.
The Justice Department stated that on or
about March 8, 2026, law enforcement officers located a parked vehicle
registered to a family member of Balat a few blocks from Gracie
Mansion. From inside the vehicle, law enforcement officers recovered a
coiled green material consistent in appearance with hobby fuse, an empty metal
can of the same approximate dimensions and appearance as the can recovered from
inside Device-1, and a notebook containing handwritten notes. One page of
the notebook contains the note “TATP explosive”; another page contains a list
of chemical ingredients, including “hydrogen peroxide,” “sulfuric acid,” and
“acetone”; and a third page contains a list of components and quantities, such
as “aluminum can x6,” and “a box of bolts ect [sic] 2x.”
Balat, 18, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania,
and Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, are charged with attempted provision
of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist
organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; use of a
weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison;
transportation of explosive materials, which carries a maximum sentence of 10
years in prison; interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, which
carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and unlawful possession of
destructive devices, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Their next court date is June 16.
Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage
and terrorism.
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