A planned deadly terrorist attack targeting New York City was derailed by law enforcement before any harm could be done, after two young American men allegedly plotted to detonate explosives at a protest outside the mayor’s official residence in the name of the Islamic State, federal prosecutors have confirmed.
An unsealed indictment released Tuesday lays out the full scope of the conspiracy against 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, both Pennsylvania residents who are US citizens. The foiled plot unfolded on March 7 outside Gracie Mansion, the official home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, where an anti-Islam protest was being held. According to court documents, the pair attempted to set off two homemade explosive devices that failed to detonate as planned, leaving no injuries and allowing authorities to take both suspects into custody immediately. Security footage captured one of the men being detained just seconds after he ignited one of the dud devices. At the time of the attempted attack, Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji were not present at the residence.
Prosecutors allege the attack was planned to inflict mass casualties in service of IS ideology. Captured dashcam audio from the pair’s vehicle recorded one of the suspects stating plainly, “All I know is I want to start terror, bro. I want to petrify these people.” The indictment details that Balat told his co-conspirator the attack could kill anywhere from 8 to 16 people, and as many as 30 to 60 if the bombing site was crowded. Law enforcement officials further allege the pair hoped their attack would outpace the deadliness of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds.
Following their arrest on March 7, both suspects voluntarily waived their constitutional right to remain silent, according to official court records. In a written statement after being taken into custody, Balat explicitly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and called for the death of non-believers, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the BBC. Kayumi similarly admitted his affiliation with IS, confirmed he regularly consumed the group’s extremist propaganda on his personal phone, and acknowledged that IS ideology was a core motivating factor for the attempted attack.
A search of the vehicle the pair used to travel to New York City turned up a cache of evidence confirming the conspiracy: three days of recorded dashcam footage, a handwritten notebook detailing bomb construction, and an unexploded third bomb. The notebook did not only outline the Gracie Mansion plot, prosecutors say: it also contained multiple alternative attack plans, including ramming a vehicle into crowds at festivals, parades, protests, or other large public gatherings.
Mamdani has publicly confirmed that the two suspects traveled to New York City with the explicit intent to carry out an act of terrorism. As of this report, Balat and Kayumi remain in federal custody following their March 7 arrest, awaiting further legal proceedings.