US prosecutors said Monday that an attempted bomb attack during a protest outside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence is being investigated as “ISIS-inspired terrorism,” using another acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to US media and prosecutors.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said two suspects, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, both from Pennsylvania, are in custody after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices during a protest Saturday outside Gracie Mansion.
Balat is a US citizen whose parents were born in Turkey and later became naturalized American citizens, according to US media.
According to a CBS report, a spokesperson for Neshaminy High School in Pennsylvania confirmed that Balat is in his senior year there. However, he has not attended in-person classes since enrolling in the district’s virtual program this past September, according to a note sent to parents Monday by the district’s superintendent, Jason Bowman.
“These were not hoax devices or smoke bombs. They were improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death,” Tisch said at a press conference.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Monday unsealed charges against the two men, including providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and use of a weapon of mass destruction.
US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said investigators believe the suspects were inspired by ISIL.
“These were ISIS-inspired actions,” Clayton said. “Violence, particularly violence that has a terrorist bent, violence that is meant to chill free speech, violence that is meant to prevent us from gathering peaceably, will be met with swift justice.”
Court documents say Balat wrote that he had “pledged allegiance to the Islamic State” and told police he wanted to carry out an attack “bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing” in 2013.
Kayumi allegedly told investigators that he watched ISIL-related material on his phone and considered himself affiliated with the group.
Police and prosecutors have not said whether the suspects were directly recruited by ISIL or radicalized online.
Rebecca Weiner, who heads the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) counterterrorism program, said the case reflects a growing pattern of younger individuals becoming radicalized through online content.
“Younger and younger individuals are radicalizing and mobilizing to violence,” Weiner said. “This is taking place against the backdrop of social media and the dynamics of online culture.”
The incident occurred during an anti-Muslim protest organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. The rally drew a small number of protesters and a larger group of counter protesters.
Police say Balat and Kayumi traveled from Pennsylvania and allegedly targeted the right-wing protesters with explosive devices.
NYPD officials said at least one of the devices contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile explosive commonly used in improvised explosive devices.
Police also identified a third device in a nearby vehicle on Sunday that did not contain explosive material and was safely disposed of.
Mayor Mamdani condemned the violence but also criticized the original protest as motivated by bigotry.
“Many of the counter-protesters met this display of bigotry peacefully,” Mamdani said. “A few did not. Two men, Amir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”
He also defended the right to peaceful protest, including for political opponents.
“Ours is a free society where the right to peaceful protest is sacred,” Mamdani said. “New York City will never tolerate violence.”
City officials said there is no evidence linking the incident to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, although the NYPD remains on heightened alert.
The investigation is being conducted by the NYPD, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.