Two men accused of being trained by ISIS were charged after authorities say they hurled an improvised explosive device toward Gracie Mansion during a chaotic protest weekend.
Arrests and alleged ties
Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, were taken into custody after clashes outside the mayor’s residence. Law-enforcement sources say both had become radicalized in recent years and traveled to locations tied to terrorist training networks.
Officials reported Balat spent more than three months in Istanbul last year, while Kayumi traveled to Istanbul and Saudi Arabia in 2024 and had visited Melbourne in 2019.
What the device was
Investigators say the homemade bomb was assembled from sports-drink bottles filled with triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the unstable explosive often called the “Mother of Satan.” The pair reportedly admitted to watching ISIS propaganda and said they acted after feeling their religion had been insulted.
Authorities noted that TATP can be made from common household ingredients and is so volatile it can detonate without a fuse. The original report on this hazard is available here.
Scene, response, and aftermath
The device failed to detonate and officers secured it, preventing what sources called a potentially deadly outcome. Police said six arrests were made during the clashes, including the two suspects.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch warned the device was not a hoax and “could have caused serious injury or death,” praising officers who “ran towards danger without hesitation.” Bomb squad teams returned to the scene after another suspicious bottle was found and cleared.
Politics and probe
Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the violence and called out rally organizer Jake Lang as a “white supremacist,” while not addressing the suspects’ alignment with pro-Muslim counterprotesters. He reiterated that “hate has no place in New York City.”
The investigation has broadened to include federal authorities; warrants were executed at homes linked to the suspects in Pennsylvania. Both men are expected to be transferred to federal custody and the device will be tested further at FBI facilities in Quantico.
