FBI launches terrorism probe into IED attack outside Mamdani's residence
FBI launches terrorism probe into IED attack outside Mamdani's residence
Anna SchecterTue, March 10, 2026 at 1:04 AM UTC
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A planned attack involving homemade explosive devices during an anti-Islam demonstration outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's residence over the weekend was inspired by the terror group ISIS, authorities said Monday. One of the devices was ignited but didn't explode.
"These were ISIS-inspired actions," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said during a news conference.
Two men from Pennsylvania, 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, are now facing federal charges after being arrested outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's home, on Saturday.
Balat allegedly told investigators that he wanted to carry out an attack that was bigger than the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon that killed three people, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
"This was not random violence," Tisch told reporters. "This was a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent foreign terrorist organization."
Both suspects admitted that their actions on Saturday were because of ISIS, Tisch said. Kayumi allegedly told investigators that he had watched ISIS propaganda on his phone and was partly inspired by the group, Tisch said. According to the police commissioner, Balat pledged his allegiance to ISIS in writing while he was in custody.
Federal prosecutors in New York unveiled charges Monday against the two men. They are each being charged with:
Attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organizationUse of a weapon of mass destructionTransportation of explosive materialsInterstate transportation and receipt of explosivesUnlawful possession of destructive devices
Mamdani said the suspects were seen on video throwing two devices toward protests outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday. The FBI said the devices contained explosive materials and fragmentation that could have killed and maimed numerous people.
"Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi have been charged with committing a heinous act of terrorism and proclaiming their allegiance to ISIS. They should be held fully accountable for their actions," Mamdani said in a statement Monday. "We will continue to keep New Yorkers safe. We will not tolerate terrorism or violence in our city."
The FBI said later Monday that it was conducting "a court-authorized search of a storage unit in Pennsylvania related to the investigation into the incident near Gracie Mansion."
ISIS, al Qaeda and pro-Iranian groups have intensified recruiting and calls for violence online since the war with Iran started just over a week ago, law enforcement sources told CBS News. The group had stepped up efforts over the last 18 months, which have intensified since the conflict started. An intelligence source noted this took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and at a time when the intelligence community has seen that impressionable young men who are prone to violence feel justified to act.
Tisch told reporters on Saturday that the anti-Islam protest was organized by people associated with Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter and far-right influencer. A group of counter-protesters, numbering more than 100, also gathered, and the suspects, angered by the anti-Islam protest, brought the homemade bombs to the gathering, intending to cause harm, law enforcement sources told CBS News.
A homemade explosive device is seen on the ground after a counter-protester threw the device at a demonstration held by far-right influencer Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 7, 2025. / Credit: Matthew Hoen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Details on explosive devices
Preliminary testing determined that one of the devices contained triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, a volatile explosive material, Tisch said. It is often synthesized from acetone and hydrogen peroxide, appearing as a white crystalline powder, two sources told CBS News.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that the devices consisted of a sports drink bottle filled or partially filled with explosive material set inside glass jars and surrounded by fragmentation, or nuts and bolts. The fuse was apparently connected to an M80-type firework.
Another suspicious device was found Sunday in a vehicle on East End Avenue about three blocks south of the park where Gracie Mansion is located, the NYPD said, prompting "limited evacuations of buildings in the vicinity while the Bomb Squad assesses and removes the device." Tisch said Monday that the vehicle was linked to the suspects, and that investigators recovered from the vehicle handwritten notes with references to TATP and listing chemical ingredients for the type of explosive device used Saturday.
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The device was safely removed for further testing, the NYPD said later Sunday, providing CBS News with an image of a black vehicle that was searched by the bomb squad.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has taken the lead and launched a terrorism investigation. Tisch said search warrants were executed at the suspects' residences in Pennsylvania.
Videos showing the chaos from the protests, verified by the CBS News Confirmed team, show a man apparently yelling "Allahu Akbar" – or "God is Most Great" – just as a protester, identified as Balat, allegedly throws an "ignited device."
Tisch described the device as "a jar wrapped in tape, importantly with nuts, bolts and screws along with a hobby fuse."
According to Tisch, the first device thrown by Balat extinguished itself after striking a barrier in a crosswalk, a few feet from police officers.
Balat then ran away and allegedly retrieved a second device from Kayumi, lit the device and started running with it before dropping the device, Tisch said.
A man flees after throwing a homemade explosive device toward police during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang in front of Gracie Mansion, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence, March 7, 2026. / Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU /AFP via Getty Images)
Balat and Kayumi were taken into custody. Police arrested a person, identified as 21-year-old Ian McGuiness, who allegedly used pepper spray on counter-protesters, and three others on disorderly conduct and obstruction charges.
Investigators looking into suspects' background
Investigators are looking into the overseas travel for Balat and Kayumi. Balat left the U.S. for several months and traveled to Istanbul from May 6 to Aug. 26, 2025. He most recently traveled back to the U.S. from Turkey in January of this year. Meanwhile, Kayumi traveled to Istanbul for several weeks in July and August 2024 and to Saudi Arabia in late March of that year.
Federal investigators have also been interviewing family members of Balat and Kayumi as part of their investigation, as well as looking at their online communications.
Balat's parents were born in Turkey and were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 2017. Balat is a U.S. citizen and has been living with his family in a large two-story home in Pennsylvania. A woman at the residence confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that Balat lived at the house.
Kayumi's parents are originally from Afghanistan. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2004 and 2009. It is unclear if Kayumi was living with them at the time of the incident Saturday.
Far-right influencer Jake Lang holds a goat on a leash during a protest he organized in front of Gracie Mansion, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence, March 7, 2026. / Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
In a statement on Sunday, Mamdani specifically mentioned Lang and said the protest outside Gracie Mansion was "rooted in bigotry and racism" and has no place in New York City.
"It is an affront to our city's values and the unity that defines who we are," he said.
He also said, "The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are."
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