Federal Charges Filed Against Pair in New York City IED Plot
Two Pennsylvania men face terrorism charges after allegedly attempting to detonate shrapnel-filled explosives during a weekend protest.
- By Jesse Jacobs
- Mar 11, 2026
Federal prosecutors have charged two men from Pennsylvania with attempting to use weapons of mass destruction and providing material support to ISIS following a thwarted bombing attempt in Manhattan.
Emir Balat, 18, of Langhorne, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, were apprehended by the New York City Police Department near Gracie Mansion. According to the criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, the suspects targeted a crowd of protesters and law enforcement officers with improvised explosive devices.
The DOJ report indicates that Balat allegedly threw a mason jar filled with nuts, bolts, and triacetone triperoxide (TATP)—a highly volatile explosive—into a group of demonstrators. Though the first device failed to detonate, authorities say Kayumi provided Balat with a second IED. Balat allegedly ignited the second device and dropped it near a line of NYPD officers before both men were tackled and taken into custody.
Investigators recovered a written pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State attributed to Balat. During post-arrest interviews, Kayumi reportedly admitted to consuming extremist propaganda and stated the pair intended to carry out an attack of significant magnitude.
"The defendants allegedly sought to weaponize a public gathering to cause mass casualties in the name of a foreign terrorist organization," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force executed follow-up search warrants at a storage facility in Pennsylvania, where technicians conducted a controlled detonation of additional explosive precursors.
The suspects remain in federal custody without bail. If convicted on the top counts of using a weapon of mass destruction and providing material support to a designated terrorist group, both men face a maximum sentence of life in prison.