Gracie Mansion homemade bomb incident: Emir Balat, Ibrahim Kayumi charged with terrorism

A counterprotester accused of hurling a homemade bomb during a clash with anti-Islam protesters near Gracie Mansion on Saturday and an accomplice were federally charged Monday with terrorism, in a case that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said is being investigated as "ISIS-inspired."

Charges against the counterprotesters, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, include attempted material support of terrorism, use of a weapon of mass destruction, and transportation of explosive materials, according to a copy of a complaint filed against the men. The devices did not explode.

According to the complaint, Balat wrote after being arrested: "All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegience [sic] to the Islamic State."

Balat, asked if he was familiar with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, told the authorities that he hoped to carry out an "even bigger" attack, as the marathon bombing "was only three deaths," the complaint said.

Balat is accused of igniting and throwing a device where protesters were gathered. He then ran down the block and got a second device, from Kayumi, according to the complaint, which said Balat then ignited and dropped the device near where NYPD officers were standing.

Balat "ran away from the NYPD officers, and jumped over a barricade. He was tackled and arrested by NYPD officers shortly thereafter," the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Balat, while being transported to a police precinct, told authorities: "This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet ... We take action! We take action!" and "If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it."

Kayumi told the authorities that he was affiliated with ISIS and he'd watch ISIS propaganda on his phone.

Tisch declined to say whether the men had been recruited by ISIS, or merely inspired by the group.

Both men were ordered jailed without bail at their arraignments in federal court.

Balat’s attorney, Mehdi Essmidi, said his client is an American-born high school senior in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Essmidi said he hopes his client is placed into protective custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

“We have an 18 guy, who’s only been 18 for two months, and he’s about to go to one of the worst detention centers in the country,” Essmidi said. “He is a sheep to the wolves in that jail.”

Asked about the allegations against the teen, Essmidi said: “I think there’s a lot more to discover about my client.” He said the two defendants just met the day of the incident.

Tisch said there was no evidence the case was connected to the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran.

Tisch and her boss, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, spoke on Monday morning at Gracie Mansion, standing with the two NYPD officers who ran toward the bomb as it was hurled: Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro.

That bomb — with bolts, nuts and screws — was thrown after someone in the anti-Islam protest, called "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City," deployed pepper spray at the counterprotesters.

Two devices were "ignited and deployed" on Saturday on East End Avenue, outside the mansion: one, in a crosswalk on the avenue and East 87th Street, and another, on the west side of the avenue between East 87th and 86th streets, Tisch said.

Tisch said test results concluded that the explosives "could have caused serious injury or death," with one of the devices containing triacetone triperoxide, a chemical found in past terrorist bombings in London, Belgium and elsewhere.

Only one of the three devices has been tested for the substance. Samples from the other two are pending testing.

Mamdani said most of the counterprotesters acted nonviolently, "but a few did not," naming Balat and Kayumi.

"Thanks to the swift and decisive actions of NYPD officers at the scene, both men were immediately taken into custody," Mamdani said. The pair had "traveled from Pennsylvania" to New York, the mayor said.

On Sunday, a nearby vehicle with New Jersey plates tied to the men was found by patrol officers with "possible suspicious devices and materials inside the car consistent with the first two explosive devices," Tisch said. Eventually, she said, the items found in the car "tested negative for explosive material."

As Mamdani spoke Monday, conservative influencer Jake Lang, who led the protest and shot off the pepper spray on Saturday, was outside the mansion shouting, "Coward!" and arguing with the police, who had refused to admit him to the news conference.

Later in the day, Mamdani put out a statement in reaction to the charges, saying: "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. We will continue to keep New Yorkers safe," the statement said. "We will not tolerate terrorism or violence in our city."

Since 9/11, the NYPD has spent billions of dollars on intelligence and counterterrorism to deter, detect and otherwise combat terrorism.

But not every plot can be stopped, said Rebecca Weiner, the department's deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence.

"Of course, some individuals will mobilize to violence without tripping the wires that we extensively set," she said. "And at that point, it is the bravery of our officers who contend with a threat as it's unfolding on our streets."