The FBI’s investigation into a protest-day bomb attempt outside Gracie Mansion expanded Tuesday, when the bureau said it found explosive residue in a Pennsylvania storage unit. Investigators said the residue was discovered in connection with charges against two men accused of bringing homemade bombs to the area near Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home in Manhattan.
The bureau said the next step came overnight Monday, when FBI bomb technicians carried out controlled detonations of the explosive residue at a public storage facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near where one suspect’s family lives. The explosions produced what local police described as “several loud bangs,” and Middletown Township Police said there was no threat to residents.
Prosecutors and law enforcement said the incident in Manhattan unfolded on Saturday, when Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were arrested after devices were recovered near the Gracie Mansion area. The Associated Press reported that Balat told police after his arrest that he was inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law enforcement officials and a criminal complaint. MSI previously reported that authorities said the explosives suspects claimed Islamic State sympathies.
Court documents described Balat and Kayumi as joining counterprotesters at a small anti-Muslim rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. Lang is described as a Christian nationalist and a critic of Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the mayor’s office. Police commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday that there were no indications the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran, though she said the city remained on a heightened state of alert.
Authorities said the devices recovered during the incident included a first object that contained the explosive TATP and nuts and bolts and that extinguished itself without harming anyone. The complaint said Balat then dropped a second object near police officers, attempted to run, and was tackled and arrested.
Federal investigators said they have conducted multiple searches as the case has progressed. On Tuesday afternoon, police evacuated a park near the mayor’s residence and closed several surrounding streets after receiving reports of a “suspicious device,” the Associated Press said. Officials later determined the object was nonthreatening, and the city said Mamdani was not home and that Gracie Mansion was not evacuated during the investigation.
Balat and Kayumi were held without bail after their court appearance on charges that included attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. The men were not required to enter a plea, according to the report. Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said his client had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life without elaborating, and Essmidi said he did not believe the two young men had known each other for long.
The Associated Press also reported background information about the suspects, including that Balat is a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne who enrolled in a virtual program in September and had not attended in-person classes since. The report said Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) north of Langhorne, and graduated in 2024 from Council Rock High School North. The report said Kayumi’s attorney declined to comment after a court hearing and that online records show his parents have worked at multiple Popeyes locations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the attack was “absolutely despicable” and said investigators and prosecutors would not rest until the perpetrators were brought to justice.