Federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday that two individuals accused of attempting to bomb a protest near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home have been formally indicted. The authorities have characterized this incident as an attack inspired by ISIS.
Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, are alleged to have driven from Pennsylvania to New York City, where they threw live explosive devices into a March 7 protest outside Gracie Mansion. Fortunately, the explosives did not detonate, and no one was harmed.
The charges against them include eight counts: conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, attempts to provide such support, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, carrying explosives during a federal felony, transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, stated, “As alleged, just weeks ago, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi executed a terrorist attack on New York’s streets. They aimed to murder multiple innocent victims under the banner of ISIS. The prompt action of the NYPD led to their immediate arrest at the scene.”
A photo depicts Ibrahim Kayumi handing an object to Emir Balat. Both were apprehended on March 7 following their alleged bombing attempt at a New York City protest, having pledged allegiance to ISIS. (Justice Department Office of Public Affairs)
Clayton further noted, “Following their attack, our collaboration with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force uncovered evidence of the defendants’ meticulous planning, including a notebook detailing their plans and a storage unit with explosive residue and bomb-making materials.”
When speaking to law enforcement, Balat allegedly said he wanted the planned attack to be “bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing.”
After Kayumi was arrested and waiting to be placed inside an NYPD vehicle, someone from the surrounding crowd yelled at him and asked why he carried out the attack.
“ISIS,” he allegedly responded.
Ibrahim Kayumi was detained by officers outside Gracie Mansion during a protest in New York City on March 7, 2026. (REUTERS/Madison Swart)
The pair also made comments recorded on dashcam in which they discussed soon carrying out the attack as they traveled to New York, according to the indictment.
“What do you think? Are they going to remove the airplanes for us … over New York? Are they going to stop them? If we do the attack and the bombs go off and everything?” Balat asked.
“Just can’t wait for that bomb to go off and his freaking head, his body to get split in half bro, dead,” he added.
Kayumi said, “All I know is I want to start terror, bro” and “I want to petrify these people.”
Emir Balat was tackled by an officer after he allegedly threw a bomb. (FNTV)
A forensic analysis of two unexploded devices — one that Balat tossed into the crowd of protesters and another that Kayumi handed to Balat before Balat dropped it on the ground near NYPD officers — found that both contained explosives, according to the indictment.
Mamdani said after the attempted bombing last month that “violence at a protest is never acceptable.”
“The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” the mayor said at the time.
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