Two Pennsylvania Men Accused of Throwing Bombs at New York City Protest Are Charged With Supporting ISIS, Could Face Death Penalty

The two young men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, accused of hurling two makeshift bombs during a clash between protesters near Gracie Mansion on Saturday, could face the death penalty if indicted on the counts charged in the criminal complaint filed at the Southern District of New York. The criminal complaint, which was unsealed on Monday around 12:30 pm, charges the two defendants with five counts, including “Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction,” which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or capital punishment. The other four charges are: Attempted Provision of Material Support and Resources to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, Transportation of Explosive Materials, Interstate Transportation and Receipt of Explosives, and Unlawful Possession of Destructive Devices. “On or about March 7, 2026, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the defendants, attempted to detonate two apparent explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion, in Manhattan, New York, during a protest and counter-protest in the area,” the complaint details.New York City’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, said on Monday during a press conference that the attempted bomb attack during Saturday’s protests outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence is being investigated by the NYPD and the FBI as an “act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.”Prosecutors say this image shows Emir Balat (L) and Ibrahim Kayumi (R) during the protests. SDNYIn a summary of the investigation, a special agent with the FBI, Jennifer Gioia, wrote in the complaint that both defendants made direct comments referring to the terrorist group after and during their arrest on Saturday. As Mr. Kayumi, 19, was placed into the police car to be taken to the precinct, “an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled… in substance and in part, why he had done this. Kayumi responded, in part and as captured on NYPD body-worn camera footage, ‘ISIS.’” The complaint alleges. During the following interrogation at the precinct, Mr. Balat, 18, “wrote on a piece of paper that he ‘pledge[d] allegiance [sic] to the Islamic State’” while his co-defendant, Mr. Kayumi, allegedly admitted to officers that “he was affiliated with ISIS; watched ISIS propaganda on his phone; and was partly inspired to carry out his actions that day by ISIS.” Furthermore, Mr. Balat allegedly stated that he and Mr. Kayumi intended “to carry out an attack bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which Balat noted caused only ‘three deaths.’” The explosive devices, according to law enforcement authorities. SDNYWhen asked if he planned to carry out an attack like the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, in which two bombs killed three people at the finish line and injured hundreds more, Mr. Balat allegedly replied, “No, even bigger.”On Saturday, two opposing groups of protesters had clashed near Gracie Mansion. One group, called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer,” was led by pardoned January 6 protester Jake Lang, who has emerged as a controversial leader of protests against illegal immigration and Islamic influence in America. Left wing counter-protesters had arrived to confront Mr. Lang and his supporters, and there was a large police presence outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Zohran Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor. Mr. Lang came to the protest with a goat and about 20 followers, one of whom brought a cooked pig in a direct reference to Islamic dietary rules. The much larger counter-protest, “Run Nazis Out of New York City,” brought over a hundred followers. Another image released by prosecutors. SDNYAt approximately 12:15 pm, “an individual later identified as Emir Balat … ignited and threw an item… toward the area where the protesters were gathered.” The complaint states. “Immediately after,” the Special Agent continues, “Balat ran to another location down the block and received a second item” which was handed to him by a man later identified as Mr. Kayumi. Both men are originally from Pennsylvania. According to preliminary testing results, one of the devices had some triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, a highly volatile explosive substance that has been used in several terrorist operations over the past ten years. Four other protesters were also arrested, including Ian McGinnis, 21, who had come with Mr. Lang’s group, and was accused of using pepper spray against the counterprotesters.Mr. Balat and Mr. Kayumi were arraigned at federal court in Manhattan on Monday afternoon. According to the Associated Press, the two men, who said nothing during the brief proceeding, but Mr. Kayumi “smirked and looked over at Balat as the judge read part of the complaint” while “Balat stared ahead at the defense table.” “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. “Our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant.”

Two Pennsylvania Men Accused of Throwing Bombs at New York City Protest Are Charged With Supporting ISIS, Could Face Death Penalty

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