Overview
- Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed an eight-count indictment Tuesday charging Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, including material support to ISIS and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
- Investigators say the pair threw two homemade devices during a March 7 protest outside the mayor’s residence, neither device detonated, no one was hurt, and officers detained both men at the scene.
- Forensic testing found the explosive TATP in at least one device and agents later recovered TATP residue and bomb-making supplies from a Pennsylvania storage unit rented days before the attack.
- Dashcam audio and a handwritten notebook describe plans to kill dozens, talk of striking police and civilians, and an alternate list of targets that included festivals, parades, protests, and celebrations.
- The defendants remain held without bail as the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force continues the case, and their arraignment has not yet been scheduled.