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Two teenagers have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after authorities say they threw improvised explosive devices during a protest near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in what officials described as an ISIS-inspired attack.
Federal prosecutors charged Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, with unlawfully possessing and using a weapon of mass destruction, transporting explosives and attempting to aid a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Authorities say the suspects attempted to detonate explosive devices during a weekend protest near the mayor’s residence in Manhattan.
“These men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS,” said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, in a statement.
Devices thrown during protest
The incident occurred Saturday during an anti-Islam demonstration and counterprotest near the mayor’s residence on the Upper East Side.
Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Police Department, said the devices were improvised explosives intended to “injure, maim or worse.”
One device was ignited and thrown toward protesters, authorities said. A second device was lit and dropped near police officers before the suspect fled.
Neither device detonated, and no injuries were reported.
A third suspicious object recovered at the scene was later determined not to contain explosive material.
Police later carried out controlled detonations of the devices with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealing that at least one contained a highly volatile explosive capable of causing serious casualties, officials said.
Arrests at the scene
According to the federal complaint, Balat ignited the first device before running down the street and receiving another explosive from Kayumi.
Balat allegedly ignited the second device and dropped it near multiple police officers before attempting to flee.
Police tackled and arrested Balat after he jumped a barricade. Kayumi was also apprehended shortly afterward.
After their arrest, both suspects allegedly declared allegiance to Islamic State, commonly known as ISIS.
In body-camera footage cited in the complaint, Kayumi reportedly responded “ISIS” when someone in the crowd asked why he had carried out the attack.
Balat allegedly wrote on paper that he “pledged allegiance to the Islamic State” after waiving his Miranda rights, according to investigators.
Evidence found in vehicle
Authorities said the suspects had traveled to New York from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where they live.
Automated license plate readers tracked their vehicle entering New York City from New Jersey about an hour before the incident.
Investigators later located the car several blocks from the arrest site. Inside, they found a hobby fuse, an empty metal can and a notebook listing chemical components that could be used to build explosives.
Officials say plot could have been deadly
Testing indicated that at least one device contained a volatile explosive material that has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the past decade, according to the complaint.
“This revealed a significant explosion,” said Rebecca Weiner, deputy commissioner for intelligence at the NYPD. The devices could have caused “death and destruction,” she said.
Prosecutors alleged the suspects hoped to inflict even greater casualties than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds.
Mayor condemns attack
Mayor Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, said the suspects had traveled to New York intending to carry out an act of terrorism.
“They have been charged with committing a heinous act of terrorism and proclaiming their allegiance to ISIS,” Mamdani said.
The mayor said he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were at a museum in Brooklyn at the time of the incident.
He praised police officers who responded to the situation, saying their swift actions prevented a more dangerous outcome.
Protest and counterprotest
The anti-Muslim demonstration that drew the suspects to the area was organized by conservative activist Jake Lang under the banner “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.”
Police said about 20 demonstrators attended the rally, while roughly 125 counterprotesters gathered nearby.
Mamdani criticized the demonstration as “a vile protest rooted in white supremacy” but said the right to protest must still be protected.
“Ours is a free society where the right to peaceful protest is sacred,” the mayor said.
Investigation continues
Federal authorities say the investigation remains ongoing.
Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, said the suspects had been indicted for attempting to carry out an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack.
“We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation,” Bondi said.
Officials also said they currently have no evidence linking the attack to the conflict in Iran involving the United States and Israel.
