Government

As Part Of Investigation, FBI Raids Homes In Newtown & Middletown

The FBI is investigating potential ties to international terrorism after tactical teams raided two Bucks County homes.


An FBI Bearcat armored vehicle pulls up on Tina Drive.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

UPDATED: 8:19 p.m., Sunday:

The FBI executed search warrants and detained residents at two separate homes – one in Middletown Township’s Langhorne section and the other in Newtown Township – Sunday evening as part of an investigation into incendiary devices in New York City.

The raids took place around 6:20 p.m. at residences on Tina Drive in Middletown Township and Clymer Street in Newtown Township.

The FBI team in Newtown Township.
Credit: Submitted

Law enforcement sources said the searches are tied to the arrests of Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19.

An FBI spokesperson told reporters that while no formal charges had been filed as of Sunday. The men were detained in federal custody.

An NYPD spokesperson said they could not add any information outside of what has been released in statements.

Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

Three people were detained at the Tina Drive home, where Balat’s family resides, while two people were led away from the Clymer Street residence of Kayumi’s family.

FBI special agents hit the home on Clymer Street.
Credit: Submitted

Tactical teams from the FBI led the activity at the homes and detained the residents of the dwellings.

Three people being detained at the home on Tina Drive.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

FBI evidence response teams and bomb technicians entered both homes as the sun set and were expected to be on the scenes for hours.

Police block traffic in Newtown Township at Clymer Street.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

Police said the activity was part of a “court-authorized search warrant” and stated there is no larger threat to the community.

The federal investigation stems from a Saturday afternoon confrontation during dueling protests near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohron Mamdani.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Balat ignited a device and threw it toward a group of people after an anti-Muslim protester deployed pepper spray. The device struck a barrier and extinguished in a crosswalk just feet from police officers.

According to Tisch, Balat then fled and obtained a second device from Kayumi before dropping it while running.

Both men were arrested shortly after by city officers at the scene.

The NYPD bomb squad recovered two devices and each was described as slightly smaller than a football.

Tisch said X-ray examinations shows jars wrapped in black tape and filled with nuts, bolts, and screws. The devices used a “hobby fuse” for ignition.

On Sunday, an NYPD official confirmed at least one of the items was an “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

The second remains under investigation.

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The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are investigating potential ties to international terrorism.

Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

NBC News reported that one of the men referred to ISIS while speaking with law enforcement.

The incident happened during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally led by Jake Lang, 30, a far-right influencer and Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Florida. Lang’s event drew approximately 20 people and was met by a counterprotest, called “Run the Nazis out of New York City,” of about 125 people.

The demonstrations took place during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, was inside Gracie Mansion with First Lady Rama Duwaji at the time, NBC 4 NY reported.

The New York Daily News reported a third “suspicious device” was located Sunday in a car connected to the suspects that was parked near the scene.

“The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” Mamdani said in a statement, adding that he appreciated officers’ brave actions.

Members of the FBI tactical team out of Philadelphia in Middletown.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com

In total, six people were arrested during the protests, according to the NYPD.

Joe Calvello, a spokesperson for the mayor, condemned Lang’s event as “despicable and Islamophobic” in a statement to ABC 7 in New York.


About the author

Tom Sofield

Tom Sofield

Tom Sofield has covered news in Bucks County for 16 years for both newspaper and online publications. Tom’s reporting has appeared locally, nationally, and internationally across several mediums. He is proud to report on news in the county where he lives and to have created a reliable publication that the community deserves.