Two men were charged for throwing makeshift bombs near the NYC mayor’s home. Here’s what we know

By Taylor Romine, Gloria Pazmino, CNN

(CNN) — Two Pennsylvania men on Saturday followed the route taken by thousands as they crossed the George Washington Bridge into New York City. But less than an hour later, their trajectory took a dark turn as they were arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were charged Monday with providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction, among other charges, after they threw two improvised explosive devices, also known as IEDs, during a protest, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

The men told law enforcement they were inspired by ISIS, the terrorist group that has seen a resurgence in recent years.

“This was a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent foreign terrorist organization,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference.

The events come as the city is near the tail-end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, all while taking place outside the residence of the city’s first Muslim mayor.

As investigators look into the two men’s ties with ISIS and their motivations, here is what we know about the situation.

Attack stemmed from anti-Muslim protest

On Saturday, an anti-Islam protest organized by right-wing influencer Jake Lang attracted about 20 people, with about 125 people coming to a counterprotest dubbed “Drive the Nazis Out of New York,” Tisch said. The protest was near Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence.

The groups stayed in their own designated areas, but tensions escalated when a protester associated with Lang’s group pepper-sprayed counterprotesters around 12:15 p.m., she said.

Twenty minutes later, a counterprotester later identified in court documents as Balat, “threw an ignited device toward the protest area,” which landed on a crosswalk, Tisch said. Video showed protesters and police quickly scatter to avoid the device.

“Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,” the commissioner said.

Balat then retrieved a second device from Kayumi before lighting it and starting to run, the complaint said. He dropped the second device on the street, where it appeared to emit smoke but also did not explode, according to Tisch.

Balat and Kayumi were arrested after the devices were thrown, Tisch said. On Monday, they were charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization, using a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials; unlawful possession of destructive devices; and interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, according to the complaint.

The anti-Islam protester accused of using pepper spray was also arrested, and three others were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic Tisch said. Mamdani said he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were not home during the time of the protest.

Suspects are teens from Pennsylvania

Balat and Kayumi both made comments saying their actions were related to ISIS, according to authorities.

As Kayumi was being placed into an NYPD vehicle, an officer’s body-worn camera footage captured someone asking why he had done this, and he responded with “ISIS,” the complaint said.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Kayumi also told authorities he watched ISIS propaganda on his phone, and his actions were partly inspired by the terrorist group, according to the complaint.

When Balat was placed in a separate police car, he made statements without being questioned, Tisch said. An officer’s body-worn camera footage captured him saying, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the Prophet. We take action … If I didn’t do it someone else will come and do it,” according to the complaint.

When he arrived at the precinct, Balat also waived his Miranda rights and requested a piece of paper, where he wrote that he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State, adding “Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar!” the complaint said. “Kuffar” is an Arabic term that refers to “non-believers” or “infidels,” the FBI agent who wrote the details in the complaint said.

An officer asked him if he knew about the Boston Marathon bombings, and if that was what he wanted to accomplish, the complaint said. According to the complaint, Balat responded, “No, even bigger. It was only three deaths.”

Neither of the men have criminal histories, Tisch said Monday.

The two teens are both from Pennsylvania, authorities said, and Balat is currently a 12th grade student at Neshaminy School District, a district person spokesperson told CNN.

Mehdi Essmidi, an attorney representing Balat, told CNN it’s not clear how his client “even came to be in New York to be involved in this,” adding he is “still trying to figure out.”

There is no indication Balat had a relationship with Kayumi prior to Saturday’s incident, and they didn’t have prior school, family or work ties, Essmidi said. Balat, a US citizen, turned 18 two months ago and lives at home with his parents in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a small suburb about an hour north of Philadelphia, he added.

“I know the family was very surprised by what happened,” Essmidi said, adding they’ve been cooperative with law enforcement after a search warrant was executed at their home.

Kayumi is being represented by a public federal defender. CNN has reached out to their office for comment.

The FBI searched a storage unit in Pennsylvania Monday related to the investigation, the FBI’s New York office said in a post on X, but didn’t share any other details.

A large law enforcement presence was seen Sunday around one of the arrested teenagers’ homes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, according to CNN affiliate KYW.

The FBI was conducting “court authorized law enforcement activity” in the area but didn’t provide details, the FBI’s Philadelphia office told CNN.

Both suspects were remanded to federal custody and are being held without bail after the initial court appearance Monday. They are scheduled to appear in court on April 8.

At least two devices found with materials found in car

The two devices recovered from Saturday’s protest were “each approximately the size of a mason jar” and each had an attached fuse, the complaint said. They also had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, with everything surrounded by duct tape, according to the complaint.

The device thrown into the crowd of protesters tested positive for an explosive substance called TATP, also known as the “Mother of Satan,” court documents said. The second device is still being analyzed.

Bomb technicians from the NYPD and FBI did controlled detonations of the two IEDs, which resulted in a “significant explosion,” Rebecca Weiner, NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, said during the news conference.

“It’s really important to note that had these IEDs functioned the way the perpetrators allegedly wanted them to, they could have caused death, destruction,” she said.

A third device found Sunday is being investigated “in connection with” Saturday’s incident, NYPD said. That device tested negative for explosive material, Tisch said.

After Balat was arrested Saturday, authorities found a car several blocks away from Gracie Mansion that was registered to Balat’s family member and was captured moving across the George Washington Bridge into New York City at 11:36 a.m., the complaint said. Police found a multitude of items in the car, including “a coiled green material consistent in appearance with hobby fuse,” an empty metal can similar to one found in one of the devices, and a notebook that said “TATP explosive” and listed chemical ingredients, the complaint said.

Saturday’s attack was the first time in almost a decade the city has dealt with someone utilizing IEDs to harm others. The last incident was when Akayed Ullah detonated a device on his torso in 2017 in the middle of central Manhattan’s transportation hub in an act that only injured the assailant.

Officials denounce attack as city is in heighted state of alert

Mamdani denounced the anti-Islam protest as being “rooted in bigotry and racism,” but called the bombs being thrown into the crowd “even more disturbing.”

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” the mayor said in a statement. He also thanked the police officers who “ran toward danger without hesitation” to protect the city.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against the two men on X, saying “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.”

The attack comes as New York City was already “in a heightened state of alert” because of the war in Iran, Tisch said.

“We will continue to deploy additional counterterrorism resources throughout New York City, including heavy weapons teams, canine units, aviation and more,” she said.

“As the investigation into the terrorist attack near Gracie Mansion and military action in Iran continue, New York State remains in a heightened threat environment,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a post on X.

New York State Police increased their presence at sensitive sites across the state, while more than 1,000 National Guard members remain deployed “protecting critical transit sites across New York City,” she said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s John Miller, Holly Yan, Karina Tsui, Cindy Von Quednow, Sharif Paget, Katherine Koretski, Emma Tucker and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.