Overview
- Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were arrested on March 7 after two improvised devices failed to explode at a protest outside the New York mayor’s residence, authorities said.
- Prosecutors say both suspects professed allegiance to ISIS after being taken into custody, and the case is described as ISIS-inspired.
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged the pair with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group, use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosives, and unlawful possession of destructive devices, with potential life sentences.
- Searches recovered additional materials and notes referencing TATP, and FBI bomb technicians reported explosive residue and conducted a controlled detonation at a Pennsylvania storage unit.
- Investigators are reviewing the men’s recent travel, including time in Istanbul and trips to Saudi Arabia, as a developing lead, and vendor records link Balat to a Pennsylvania fireworks-fuse purchase shortly before the incident.