Global intifada knocks on Mamdani’s NY door: ISIS-lovers hoped to top Boston Marathon bombing death toll

Two wannabe Islamic terrorists are under arrest after throwing an improvised explosive device during a confrontation on Saturday between pro- and anti-Muslim demonstrators outside Gracie Mansion, official residence of Zohran Mamdani, the city first Muslim mayor on.

The suspects “stated they were aligned with ISIS,” according to Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general, said the men “allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS with the hope of exceeding the carnage of the Boston Marathon bombing.” 

The two men — Emir Balat, 18, of Langhorne, PA, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, PA — were “both self-radicalized in recent years and traveled to Turkey and other terror-training hotspots,” the New York Post reported, citing law enforcement sources close to the investigation.

The device that Balat is accused of throwing into a crowd of protesters “contained TATP, a highly volatile explosive that is colloquially known as the ‘Mother of Satan’ and extremely sensitive to impact, friction and heat,” the Justice Department said. “TATP has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade.”

Jessica Tisch, the New York City Police Department commissioner, said at a Monday press conference that “I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.”

The city has been “in a heightened state of alert” since the “start of hostilities in Iran, and we remain in that posture,” said Tisch, who was wearing a Star of David necklace. “Today, we will continue to deploy additional counterterrorism resources throughout New York City, including heavy weapons teams, canine units, aviation and more.”

“The last time that an IED targeting people was deployed in New York City was in 2017 when Akayed Ullah detonated a device strapped to his torso in the pedestrian underpass connecting the Port Authority bus terminal and the Times Square subway station,” she added.

“No one other than the attacker was injured in that incident, and once again, we were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing.”

“But luck is never a strategy,” she said.

Balat lit and threw an explosive “toward the area where the anti-Muslim protesters gathered” at around 12:15 pm, per the Justice Department complaint. He then ran down the block, and Kayumi gave him a second explosive device, which he appeared to ignite and drop “near where several NYPD officers were standing,” the complaint alleges.

The US Justice Department said on Monday that both men face charges of trying to support a foreign terror organization; using a weapon of mass destruction; transporting explosive materials, including across state lines; and possessing destructive devices illegally.

Those charges add up to a maximum sentence of 50 years to life for each individual, the department said.

“This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet,” Balant allegedly told police officers. “We take action! We take action!”

“If I didn’t do it someone else will come and do it,” he allegedly said. At the police station, he asked for a pen and paper and wrote “all praise is due to Allah, lord of all worlds,” per the complaint. “I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State.”

He also used the ISIS slogan “die in your rage,” which he directed at non-believers, using an Arabic term, the Justice Department said.

According to the Justice Department, while Kayumi was inside a police car, he responded to someone in the crowd asking why he carried out the attack by saying “ISIS.” It added that he later told police officers that he is part of the terror group.

When police officers asked Balat if he was aware of the Boston Marathon bombing, he allegedly told them that he wanted to accomplish something “even bigger,” because “it was only three deaths.”

The brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev killed three and injured more than 500 in the Boston bombing on April 15, 2013.

In Saturday’s aborted terrorist attack, Balat and Kayumi allegedly tried to detonate improvised explosive devices among protesters at a “Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City, stop New York City public Muslim prayer” rally outside Gracie Mansion on March 7.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he and his wife knew that the protest was planned and were at the New York City Sign Museum in Brooklyn at the time.

When FBI specialists evaluated the mason jar-sized devices, they found that “each had an attached fuse, and that they each had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, surrounded by duct tape.” 

Mayor Mamdani speaks

In a press conference on Monday, Mamdani led, as he did in a Sunday statement, with the anti-Muslim rally rather than with the attempted terror attack.

“This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy entitled ‘Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City’,” he said. “I’m the first Muslim mayor of our city. Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me, nor is it anything new for the 1 million or so Muslim New Yorkers who know this city as our home.”

Mamdani said that the anti-Muslim protest was “appalling” but that he is unwavering in his belief that such a gathering is protected free speech. He then pivoted to discussing the violence and what he said was a mostly peaceful counter protest.

“Let me also be clear about something else. New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counter protests,” he said. “Many of the counter protesters met this display of bigotry peacefully, with a vision of a city that is welcoming to all. But a few did not. Two men … traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”

The two “are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” he said. The mayor did not reference the statements the two allegedly made about supporting ISIS.

“They should be held fully accountable for their actions,” he added. “We will continue to keep New Yorkers safe. We will not tolerate terrorism or violence in our city.”

On Saturday, Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller who is running for Congress, stated that “vile displays of Islamophobia will never be tolerated in our city.”

Some 20 hours later, Lander, an avowed anti-Zionist and a harsh critic of Israel, posted an update.

“The explosives yesterday near Gracie Mansion were not thrown by the Islamophobic protestors, but by their counter-protesters,” he stated. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and posting too soon, but I’m not sorry for hating Islamophobia as much as I hate antisemitism.”

Mamdani, who is also a harsh critic of Israel, drew criticism for his statement, which noted that “white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism.” The mayor did not make clear that the violence came from among some 100 people who were protesting against the small anti-Muslim protest.

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” the mayor stated. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”

Some 40 minutes before Mamdani posted his statement, NYPD Commissioner Tisch named the two suspects who were arrested and said that department’s bomb squad “has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

“I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects,” Tisch said.

Rep. Mike Lawler, Republican of Westchester, decried Mamdani’s post.

“To give full context to what happened yesterday, the two individuals arrested for throwing a homemade explosive device filled with nails, have admitted to authorities they were inspired by ISIS,” Lawler said. “In other words, they were radical Islamic terrorists.”

“As mayor of the largest city in the world, and the greatest target of terrorism, you need to confront this head on. Don’t just call out one group of protestors and not the other group, and certainly don’t ignore the background of those responsible,” Lawler continued. “White supremacy and radical Islam are equally bad. That shouldn’t be hard to say.”