Two Pennsylvania teenagers have been charged with federal terrorism offenses after throwing homemade explosive devices inspired by ISIS during an anti-Islam protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Gracie Mansion residence on March 8, 2026. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is probing the planned attack, which involved undetonated IEDs containing TATP packed with shrapnel; a third suspicious device was later found nearby.
The incident unfolded during an anti-Islam demonstration organized by associates of Jake Lang, a pardoned January 6 rioter and far-right influencer, drawing over 100 counter-protesters. Video footage verified by CBS News shows 18-year-old Emir Balat yelling "Allahu Akbar" as he ignited and threw a device toward protesters and police, which extinguished after hitting a barrier. Balat then retrieved a second device from accomplice 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, lit it, and dropped it while fleeing. Bodycam footage captured Kayumi responding 'ISIS' to a crowd question about his affiliation.
Both suspects were arrested at the scene. After waiving Miranda rights, Balat wrote a pledge of allegiance: 'All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds. I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar.' He flashed an ISIS index-finger salute three times while being escorted and told investigators he aimed for an attack larger than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Kayumi admitted watching ISIS propaganda. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described it as 'a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent foreign terrorist organization.'
The IEDs contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP, or 'Mother of Satan'), made from acetone and hydrogen peroxide, packed in a sports drink bottle with glass jars, nuts, bolts for fragmentation, and fused to an M80-type firework. A third suspicious device, containing handwritten TATP notes, was found Sunday in a vehicle linked to the suspects on East End Avenue, three blocks from Gracie Mansion; the NYPD bomb squad safely removed it.
On Monday, March 9, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Balat and Kayumi with attempted provision of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosives, interstate receipt of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, 'These were ISIS-inspired actions.' Attorney General Pam Bondi added, 'We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.'
The FBI is leading the investigation, executing search warrants at the suspects' Pennsylvania homes, a related storage unit (previously reported as a New Jersey site), and conducting family interviews. Balat's Turkish-born parents naturalized in 2017; Kayumi's Afghan-born parents in 2004 and 2009. Both had overseas travel: Balat to Istanbul from May 6 to August 26, 2025, returning January 2026; Kayumi to Istanbul in July-August 2024 and Saudi Arabia in late March 2024.
Mayor Mamdani condemned the attack: '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.' He called the protest 'rooted in bigotry and racism' and an 'affront to our city's values,' while affirming rights to peaceful assembly.
Law enforcement notes increased ISIS, al Qaeda, and pro-Iranian online recruiting and violence calls since a war with Iran began over a week ago, intensifying during Ramadan.
