In a troubling development outside New York City’s mayoral residence, two men allegedly inspired by the extremist group Islamic State have been charged after reportedly bringing explosives to a protest. This information comes from recent court documents.
Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi have been detained without bail following their arraignment on Monday. They face serious charges, including attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and employing a weapon of mass destruction. Their defense attorneys did not seek bail during the initial court appearance, although they have the option to do so at a later date.
The incident occurred during a chaotic scene on Saturday, where homemade devices were thrown amid counterprotests. These counterprotests erupted in response to an anti-Islamic demonstration spearheaded by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Notably, Mayor Mamdani is the first Muslim to hold this office and is a member of the Democratic Party.
During the court session, the defendants remained silent. However, Kayumi was observed smirking and glancing towards Balat as the judge referenced their alleged support for the Islamic State in the complaint. Balat, meanwhile, maintained a stoic demeanor, focusing intently on the defense table.
The complaint reveals that during his arrest on Saturday, Kayumi spontaneously claimed his actions were motivated by “ISIS.” Authorities later reported that Balat, aged 18, confessed to having pledged allegiance to the extremist group, while Kayumi, 19, claimed affiliation with the Islamic State.
In a disturbing inquiry, officers questioned Balat if his intentions were similar to the tragic 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, where two pressure-cooker bombs detonated near the finish line, resulting in three fatalities and hundreds of injuries.
“No, even bigger,” Balat replied, according to the complaint.
Attorney General highlights the case
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on social media that authorities “will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.”
In court, Kayumi’s lawyer, Michael Arthus, pointed to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and asked that prosecutors avoid saying anything that could prejudice potential jurors.
Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside the court that his client was three classes away from graduating from high school.
An automated license plate reader captured the suspects – both Pennsylvania residents – entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the noontime attack, according to the complaint. Kayumi’s mother filed a missing person report saying she last saw him around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The suspects’ 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 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.
No ties to Iran war are identified
Speaking outside the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, on Monday morning, Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi “traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.” Mamdani and his wife weren’t home during the protest.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there are no indications that the men’s alleged activities were connected to the ongoing war in Iran. The Islamic State is a group of Sunni extremists; 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.
Meanwhile, police have searched a home in eastern Pennsylvania’s Middletown Township, and a separate federal investigation was underway in nearby Newtown, local police said.
The attack unfolded in a chaotic scene
Lang’s sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators. Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the explosive TATP into the crowd, the complaint said. It also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, the complaint 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.
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.
After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz in New York and David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
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