Ongoing Investigation Following Defendants’ Arrests Resulted in the Seizure of a Notebook Containing Attack Plans, a Storage Unit Containing Bomb-Making Materials, and Dashcam Footage of the Defendants Discussing the Thwarted Plot
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Kash Patel, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, announced an eight-count indictment charging EMIR BALAT and IBRAHIM KAYUMI in connection with their alleged terrorist attack in Manhattan on March 7, 2026. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.
“As alleged, just weeks ago, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi carried out a terrorist attack on the streets of New York,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “They sought to murder multiple innocent victims in the name of ISIS. The brave women and men of the NYPD responded immediately, and Balat and Kayumi were arrested on site. Since their attack, our partners at the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force have uncovered evidence revealing the alleged meticulous planning by the defendants in their attack, including a notebook with detailed attack plans and a storage unit containing explosive residue and bomb-making materials. This indictment is another step in holding the defendants accountable for their alleged conduct. We, the NYPD, the FBI, and our other law enforcement partners will continue to work every day to keep New Yorkers safe.”
“These individuals allegedly prepared explosive devices and attempted to detonate them on the streets of New York in the name of ISIS, but their plan failed thanks to the brave police officers who acted quickly,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined to protect the homeland from terrorism or other acts of violence, and our partnerships are key to carrying out that mission. We also will make sure anyone who tries to harm our citizens in the name of ISIS, or any other terrorist organization, will face justice.”
“As alleged, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi traveled to New York City with IEDs to kill as many people as possible in an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “The alleged notes and instructions recovered from their vehicle demonstrate just how much cruelty they had planned. The FBI New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force continues to work with the NYPD to defend our community against those who wish to cause mass casualties and tragedy.”
“Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi planned this attack, transported explosive devices, and came to New York City intending to kill innocent people, as alleged in the indictment,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “What they allegedly set in motion was an ISIS-inspired act of terrorism with the potential for mass casualties. It was stopped because of the quick-thinking, decisive actions of the men and women of the NYPD, who moved toward the threat and took these individuals into custody before more lives were put at risk. I thank our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District for their work in securing this indictment. Anyone who seeks to bring terror to this city will be found, stopped, and held accountable.”
As alleged in the Complaint and in the Indictment:[1]
The Attack
On or about March 7, 2026, a protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” and a counter-protest called “Run Nazis Out of New York City” were held outside of Gracie Mansion in New York, New York. Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City.
That morning, BALAT and KAYUMI drove from Pennsylvania to Manhattan and parked near Gracie Mansion. They then walked to the site of the protest and counter-protest, and at approximately 12:15 p.m., BALAT ignited and threw an improvised explosive device (“Device-1”) toward the area where the protesters were gathered. Immediately after throwing Device-1, BALAT ran to another location down the block, where KAYUMI passed BALAT a second improvised explosive device (“Device-2,” and together with Device-1, the “Devices”). BALAT ignited and dropped Device-2 on the ground near several NYPD officers and then ran from the scene, jumping over a barricade in the process. NYPD officers tackled and arrested BALAT shortly thereafter, and KAYUMI was arrested nearby moments later.
BALAT’s and KAYUMI’s Post-Arrest Statements About ISIS
Following his arrest, while en route to the NYPD precinct, BALAT stated to NYPD officers transporting him: “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk bad about . . . our prophet. We take action! We take action!”; and “If I don’t do it, someone else will come and do it.” Later, at the NYPD precinct, BALAT requested a piece of paper and, after being given a paper and pen, wrote the following: “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! Emir B.” “Kuffar” is an Arabic term that refers to “non-believers” or “infidels,” and “Die in your rage” is a slogan used by ISIS. When law enforcement officers asked BALAT if he was familiar with the Boston Marathon bombing, and if that was what BALAT had hoped to accomplish, BALAT responded: “No, even bigger. It was only three deaths.”
After KAYUMI was arrested and waiting to be placed inside an NYPD vehicle, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to KAYUMI and asked, in substance and in part, why KAYUMI had done this. KAYUMI responded, “ISIS.” At the NYPD precinct, KAYUMI stated, in substance and part, that he had watched “radical content” online.
Evidence Recovered from the Defendants’ Vehicle
Following the Attack, law enforcement officers found the vehicle, registered to BALAT’s relative, that BALAT and KAYUMI had parked a few blocks south of Gracie Mansion. Inside the vehicle, officers recovered, among other things, a long coil of fuse, a notebook (the “Notebook”), and a dashboard camera containing a memory card on which approximately three days of video and audio recordings had been recorded (the “Dashcam Recordings”).
The Notebook contained pages of handwritten notes. One page listed “acetone peroxide synthesis” and “TATP explosive.” Other pages listed (i) ingredients and equipment for mixing explosives (for example, “hydrogen peroxide,” “sulfuric acid,” “glass container,” “syringe,” and “glass jar”), (ii) bomb components (for example, “aluminum can 6x” and “a box of bolts ect 2x”), (iii) steps and warnings for constructing a bomb (for example, “now add 25 ml of hydrogen perioxide into GC” and “DO NOT leave in open—the drier it becomes, the more sensitive to pressure, friction, and heat”) and (iv) steps for “detonat[ing] a bomb with burning fuse.” Another page described an apparent alternate plan for an attack by vehicle, including: (i) the “Ideal vehicle” for conducting an attack, which was to be “load bearing,” “large in size,” “reasonably fast,” and “heavy in weight”; (ii) a list of possible “target[s],” including “festivals,” “parades,” “protest,” and “celebrations”; and (iii) “steps to making napalm.”
The Dashcam Recordings captured video footage of the defendants’ travel from Pennsylvania to Manhattan on the morning of March 7, 2026, as well as audio recordings of their detailed discussion that morning of how they would conduct the attack, the likely outcome of the attack, whom they were targeting, and their use of social media websites to try to locate one of their intended targets (“Individual-1”). For example:
- KAYUMI stated, “All I know is I want to start terror bro,” and “I want to petrify these people.” BALAT responded, “Just for safety, as soon as you light it, just do it as soon as possible. Because I was testing the fuses, and some just go really fast sometimes, and some just are a bit slower.”
- KAYUMI stated, “First call, they’re going to be like this is us targeting [Individual-1].” BALAT responded that he was targeting “the government” and “civilians also.” KAYUMI replied, “Yeah, I know.”
- BALAT stated, “what I have here is called TATP,” that he had “calculated it,” and that “it’s gonna kill about 8 to 16 people,” or as many as 30 to 60 people if the area was crowded.
- BALAT instructed KAYUMI on how to throw the bomb and to “hide it” until BALAT gave “a sign.” BALAT further explained, “I’m going to say 3, 2, 1, and I’m going to take it out as fast and controlled as possible. We light it, as soon as you see it going underhand, go in his direction, trying to aim at him and at his feet. And then run to the car. Together.”
- BALAT discussed that they would be engaging in “martyrdom” and described having left behind a note.
The Storage Unit
In addition, FBI agents searched a storage unit in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, that BALAT had rented just days before the attack, and recovered residue that a subsequent forensic analysis confirmed contained triacetone triperoxide (“TATP”). The unit also contained bomb-making supplies, including a bottle labeled “12% hydrogen peroxide,” an ingredient of TATP; syringes; a digital scale; gloves; an open package of nuts and bolts; and glass jars similar in appearance to the ones used to build the Devices. In the center of the floor inside the storage unit was a piece of paper containing the handwritten words, “All praise is due to Allah!!! Die in your rage ya kuffar!”
Forensic Analysis
Finally, a forensic analysis has revealed that Device-1, which BALAT had thrown into the crowd of protesters, consisted of a glass jar wrapped in duct tape and containing nuts, bolts, an energy drink can filled with TATP, and a fuse. TATP is a highly sensitive primary explosive that is colloquially known as the “Mother of Satan”; is extremely sensitive to impact, friction, and heat; and has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade. Forensic analysis also revealed that Device-2, which KAYUMI had handed to BALAT before BALAT dropped it on the ground near police officers, contained TATP.
BALAT, 18, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and KAYUMI, 19, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, are each charged with: (i) conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; (ii) provision and attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; (iii) conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; (iv) attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; (v) carrying of explosive materials during the commission of a federal felony, which carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the underlying federal felony; (vi) transportation of explosive materials, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; (vii) interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and (viii) unlawful possession of destructive devices, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Mr. Clayton also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI Newark Field Office, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the charging instruments to date constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
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