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Federal documents have disclosed that two teenagers suspected of plotting a bomb attack aimed to surpass the devastation of the Boston Marathon bombing.
On Monday, Ibrahim Kayumi and Emir Balat faced charges including attempting to support ISIS, deploying a weapon of mass destruction, and several other offenses.
The duo was apprehended on Saturday after allegedly hurling a homemade explosive, known as the ‘Mother of Satan’ bomb, near the residence of the New York City mayor amid an anti-Islam demonstration.
As Kayumi, aged 19, was being taken into custody, he reportedly confessed that his actions were motivated by allegiance to ‘ISIS,’ according to the legal complaint.
Balat, 18, informed investigators of his vow of loyalty to the terrorist group, while Kayumi claimed a connection to the Islamic State, as stated in their indictment.
During his time in NYPD custody, Balat allegedly declared, “All praise is due to Allah, lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage, you infidels!” according to the complaint.
‘This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet… We take action!’
Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the bombing of the Boston Marathon in 2013, when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding hundreds more.
‘No, even bigger,’ Balat replied, according to the complaint. He also noted that the Boston bomber only caused ‘three deaths.’
Ibrahim Kayumi (front) and Emir Balat (back) in federal custody leaving the NYPD’s 26th Precinct stationhouse in Manhattan on Monday
Emir Balat is pictured throwing a homemade explosive device outside the New York City mayor’s mansion on Saturday afternoon
The pair were arrested Saturday after a homemade ‘Mother of Satan’ bomb, pictured above, was thrown outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s house
Emir Balat, left, and Ibrahim Kayumi, far right, were charged on Monday with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, use of a weapon of mass destruction, and other crimes
Ibrahim Kayumi and Emir Balat sit before a federal judge on Monday while they are charged with five federal crimes
Barat and Kayumi were also charged with transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices.
The two men both have addresses in Pennsylvania, and Balat carried a Turkish government identification card along with his Pennsylvania driver’s license, according to the complaint.
The men’s attorneys were expected at court. Attempts to reach the suspects’ families were not immediately successful.
An automated license plate reader captured the pair entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the attack, according to the complaint.
Their vehicle – registered to one of Balat’s relatives – was discovered Sunday a few blocks from where they were arrested.
A search of the car turned up a ‘hobby fuse’ and a metal can, along with a written list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives, the complaint said.
When police detonated the devices, there was a ‘significant explosion,’ NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner said.
The devices – which did not explode when Barat hurled them into the crowd – would have caused ‘death, destruction, an extremely dangerous compound, and an extremely dangerous place deployed,’ she added.
New photos show the inside of the homemade ‘Mother of Satan’ bomb that the pair Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration
The device contained explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, and a hobby fuse that was reportedly connected to an M80-type firework
At least 10 federal agents stormed the $2.25 million home in Newtown where Kayumi lived on Sunday. One man was detained at the property
FBI Evidence Response Team agents collected evidence and executed a search warrant at a home associated with 18-year-old terror suspect, Emir Balat in Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Balat hurled the homemade devices during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by far-right activist and Mamdani critic Jake Lang.
Mamdani and his wife were not in Gracie Mansion at the time of the incident.
Speaking outside the residence Monday morning, Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi ‘traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.’
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there are no indications that the men’s alleged activities were connected to the ongoing war in Iran.
But she noted the incident is ‘being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.’
Tisch declined to say more about why authorities believe the suspects were motivated by the Islamic State group, a Sunni extremist group. Iran’s population is almost entirely Shiite, the other main religious community within Islam.
While Mamdani and Tisch briefed reporters Monday, Lang heckled from outside the Gracie Mansion gates.
FBI agents raided the family homes of both men in suburban Philadelphia on Sunday.
Barat, whose parents were born in Turkey and reportedly became naturalized US citizens in 2017, lived with his family in a $653,000 home in Langhorne.
Two men and a woman were taken into custody at the 3,200-square-foot, two-story residence, WPVI reported.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks alongside New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (second-left) outside Gracie Mansion on Monday morning
Emir Balat, 18, is pictured allegedly lighting and dropping an explosive at a counter-protest against an anti-Muslim demonstration organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang
Balat is pictured fleeing after dropping the improvised explosive near police officers. Police initially were unsure if the device was an imitation or a real bomb
Emir Balat hands Ibrahim Kayumi a homemade explosive device during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang against alleged ‘Islamification’ and to ask for a ‘stop of public Muslim prayer’ in New York in front of Gracie Mansion on Saturday
At least 10 agents stormed Kayumi’s parents’ $2.25 million home in Newtown on Sunday, footage captured by WCAU showed.
One man was detained at the sprawling 5,800-square-foot home, which boasts six bedrooms and five bedrooms.
Charges have not been brought against the individuals who were detained at the respective residences.
Kayumi’s parents are from Afghanistan and became naturalized US citizens in 2004 and 2009.
The suspected bomber was in Istanbul for multiple weeks in July and August 2024. He also went to Saudi Arabia in March that same year.
Balat also traveled to Turkey multiple times in the past year, with his most recent trip having occurred in January.
He previously visited the county from May 6 to August 26 last year.
Investigators are understood to be looking into the pair’s overseas travel history to known what they have described as ‘terror training grounds.’
Kayumi’s parents are from Afghanistan and became naturalized US citizens in 2004 and 2009. His last known address was this $2.25 million home in Newton, Pennsylvania
Balat’s parents were born in Turkey and became naturalized US citizens in 2017. The 18-year-old is a US citizen and neighbors confirmed he lives with his family in their $653,000 home in Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Lang’s sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of roughly 125 counterdemonstrators.
Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the white, crystalline explosive material triacetone triperoxide (TATP) into the crowd, the complaint said.
It also contained an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, and a hobby fuse that was reportedly connected to an M80-type firework, investigators said.
The device extinguished itself steps from police officers. According to the complaint, Balat then ran down the block and collected a second, similar device from Kayumi, dropped it near some police officers and tried to run away, the complaint said.
Police tackled Balat and soon arrested him and Kayumi.
TATP has been linked to previous ISIS attacks, including the Paris attacks in 2015.
The scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam protest, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after pepper-spraying counterprotesters.
McGinnis, of Philadelphia, was released without bond after pleading not guilty Sunday to assault and aggravated harassment in a New York court, records show. A message seeking comment was left Monday for his attorney.
Three others were taken into custody but were released without charges.
Jake Lang demonstrates outside Gracie Mansion on Monday after a news conference by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani
NYC bomb suspect Emir Balat, pictured during his arrest Saturday, was radicalized by the Islamic State and recently returned from a trip to Turkey
Ibrahim Kayumi, who is also understood to have been radicalized by ISIS, was in Istanbul for multiple weeks in July and August 2024. He also went to Saudi Arabia in March that same year. Kayumi is pictured during his arrest in NYC on Saturday
After the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Lang was charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes.
He was later freed from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency.
Lang recently announced that he is running for US Senate in Florida.
Earlier this year, he organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters who quickly chased him away.
