UPDATE: Local Men Charged With Attempting Terrorist Attack

UPDATED 2:50 p.m., Monday:

Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint Monday against two Bucks County men accused in a failed terrorism plot.

Emir Balat, 18, of Middletown Township’s Langhorne section, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, of Newtown Township, face multiple federal charges, including use of a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to ISIS, according to papers filed in the Southern District of New York.

The duo allegedly traveled from Pennsylvania to New York City on Saturday morning to target an anti-Muslim protest happening near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife.

While officials said Monday morning that the two young men were “ISIS-inspired,” the federal complaint provides additional information on their alleged radicalization.

As he was being transported in an NYPD vehicle after his arrest, Balat allegedly shouted, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet … We take action! We take action!”

When a bystander asked Kayumi why he did it, he simply responded, “ISIS,” federal authorities said.

After his arrest by the NYPD, Balat, a Neshaminy High School student, reportedly waived his Miranda rights and wrote a note stating, “I pledge my allegience [sic] to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar!”

The FBI special agent writing the criminal complaint stated “kuffar” refers to non-believers and the slogan used is a common ISIS refrain.

When asked if he hoped to emulate the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Balat allegedly replied, “No, even bigger. It was only three deaths”.

Kayumi admitted to law enforcement that he was affiliated with ISIS, watched the group’s propaganda on his phone, and was “partly inspired” by the organization to carry out the failed attack.

The FBI confirmed that “Device-1,” which Balat allegedly threw into a crowd of protesters at approximately 12:15 p.m., contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP). Known colloquially as the “Mother of Satan,” TATP is a highly volatile explosive frequently used in international terrorism.

The devices were described by officials as being the size of mason jars, wrapped in duct tape with nuts and bolts attached to the exterior to act as shrapnel.

A search of a vehicle registered to a Balat family member, which was spotted entering Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge an hour before the attack, yielded a notebook with handwritten recipes for TATP involving hydrogen peroxide and acetone, federal law enforcement said.

The arrests followed a chaotic scene near East End Avenue and East 88th Street.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Balat threw the first device before receiving a second one from Kayumi.

Balat was arrested by NYPD officers after dropping the second ignited device near a group of officers.

According to court papers, Kayumi was reported missing by his mother at some point Saturday. She reported she last saw him at 10:30 a.m.

Balat, according to law enforcement, had a Turkish ID and a Pennsylvania driver’s license. The New York Post reported Kayumi’s parents were citizens who had immigrated from Afghanistan years ago.

Both men remain in federal custody.

If convicted on the top counts, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The FBI conducted raids on the suspects’ families’ Middletown Township and Newtown Township homes on Sunday evening.

Local police said there was no concern for local residents in the wake of the arrests.

The charging documents do not mention a reported third device that was discovered Sunday in a black 2010 Honda with New Jersey plates connected to the suspects. The vehicle was found not far from Saturday’s incident, and a bomb squad took the device, city officials told reporters.

“We were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing,” Tisch said. “But luck is never a strategy.”

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor and a Democrat, said the defendants traveled to the city to commit “violence.”

“Anyone who comes to New York City to bring violence to our streets will be held accountable in accordance with the law,” he said.

U.S. Attorney General announced the charges Monday afternoon in a social media post.

“We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation. Our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant,” she posted.

In a 2 p.m. press conference, James Barnacle, the FBI New York Field Office assistant director in charge, said police “thwarted a potentially dangerous day.”

Authorities told reporters the two men were counterprotesters to the anti-Muslim rally and had planned the failed attack in advance.

While the two men reportedly had past international travel to the Middle East, NYPD and federal authorities declined to comment, but noted they were looking into that information.

An NYPD intelligence official said law enforcement is seeing “younger and younger” people being motivated to violence across a wide spectrum of beliefs due to social media.

Balat and Kayumi did not have prior criminal histories and were not on the radar of New York City authorities at the time of their arrests, Tish explained.

Barnacle said the FBI continues to work with other law enforcement agencies to probe the incident.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton urged members of the public with any tips on the case to submit them via FBI.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Original Story:

Two Bucks County men are expected to soon face federal charges after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices during a weekend protest in New York City in what officials described Monday as “ISIS-inspired terrorism.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch briefed reporters on the weekend incident that happened near Gracie Mansion, the city’s official home of the mayor.

The two suspects in custody are Emir Balat, 18, of the Langhorne section of Middletown Township, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, of Newtown Township.

The two men traveled from Pennsylvania to Manhattan to “bring violence to New York City” during dueling protests Saturday near the mayor’s official residence, Mamdani told reporters.

“They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” Mamdani said.

FBI tactical teams conducted simultaneous raids around 6:20 p.m. Sunday at the Balat family home on Tina Drive in Middletown Township and the Kayumi family residence on Clymer Street in Newtown Township.

While five people were detained across the two properties, they have not been accused of wrongdoing.

FBI evidence teams remained on-site in Bucks County overnight and were gone by daybreak Monday.

Sofia Kettler, an FBI spokesperson in Philadelphia, confirmed the raids were “court-authorized law enforcement activity.”

Local police stated there is no broader threat to the community.

Balat was a student at Neshaminy High School, while Kayumi recently attended the Council Rock School District. Both districts said they are in contact with police and reported no ongoing concerns for student safety.

Tisch confirmed the devices thrown during the protest were not “hoax devices nor smoke bombs” but functional IEDs capable of causing death.

Preliminary testing by the NYPD Bomb Squad and the FBI showed one device contained triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, a volatile explosive that has been used in international terror attacks.

“We were fortunate that the devices used this weekend did not cause the kind of harm that they were certainly capable of causing,” Tisch said. “But luck is never a strategy.”

A third suspicious device was discovered Sunday in a black 2010 Honda with New Jersey plates connected to the suspects. The vehicle was found not far from Saturday’s incident, and a bomb squad took the device, officials said.

The incident happened during Saturday’s “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally, which drew about 20 people. Approximately 125 counter-protesters opposed the anti-Muslim rally led by Jake Lang, a far-right influencer and Republican U.S. Senate candidate.

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor and a Democrat, described the original protest as “vile” and “rooted in white supremacy,” but he defended the right to peaceful demonstration.

The mayor said Balat and Kayumi “traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”

The devices ignited in a crosswalk at East End Avenue and East 87th Street and on the west side of East End Avenue.

Video footage captured the suspects throwing the devices toward the crowd in the area where the anti-Muslim group and counterprotesters were gathering.

After early reports that stated otherwise, the mayor was not at Gracie Mansion at the time of the incident, he said, adding he and his wife have been kept informed by the NYPD.

The bomb suspects remained in city police custody as of Monday morning.

BREAKING: Protest BOMB Suspects Walked by NYPD and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force units in NYC.

Video by @FreedomNTV
Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/iDHSTVP0fQ

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) March 9, 2026

Several other arrests were made during the demonstration, including a Philadelphia man taking part in the anti-Muslim protest accused of using pepper spray on counter protesters prior to the deployment of the explosives.

Mamdani and Tisch praised the bravery of NYPD Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro, who ran toward the devices.

Officials added there is currently no information linking the incident to the conflict in Iran.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are expected to unseal a formal complaint Monday afternoon.

Tisch noted this was the first time an IED targeting people has been used in New York City since 2017.

“New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counter protests,” Mamdani said. “Anyone who comes to New York City to bring violence to our streets will be held accountable in accordance with the law.”

Manuel Gamiz, a spokesperson for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, said the office is aware of the situation but has no involvement in the case.

“Violence, terror, and hatred have no place in our country. No member of the public, protester, law enforcement officer, or elected official should ever be targeted. Ours is a nation built on the rule of law and respect for one another—and we will always defend and protect those values,” Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, said in a social media post.