Dashcam recorded men’s plot to use bombs at NYC protest, prosecutors say

Summary

The two men charged in a March 7 bomb attempt at a New York City protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home were captured on dashcam audio and video discussing a terror plot, prosecutors said in an indictment released Tuesday. The indictment describes conversations preserved from the vehicle the men drove from Pennsylvania to Manhattan ahead of the attack, where prosecutors said two homemade explosive devices were thrown at the demonstration but did not explode. Balat, 18, and Kayumi, 19, were detained quickly after the incident.

Federal prosecutors said the recordings show the men discussing targeting both “the government” and “civilians,” with one man describing an intent to “start terror.” The indictment also describes a notebook recovered from the vehicle that prosecutors said outlined an alternative vehicle-attack plan aimed at locations that included festivals, parades and celebrations.

According to the indictment, police recovered dashcam audio and video from the vehicle the men used to travel to Manhattan, and prosecutors said the audio and video captured the pair describing what they wanted the attack to accomplish. The indictment alleges that Balat and Kayumi planned to bring homemade explosives to the protest connected to an anti-Islam demonstration hosted by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of Mamdani.

Prosecutors said the two men were inspired by ISIS, a claim prosecutors tied to what they said were the men’s recorded statements and other materials found in the vehicle. The government’s filing described the explosive devices as containing TATP and shrapnel, and it said the devices were thrown during the protest but did not detonate.

The indictment further alleges that Balat was recorded telling Kayumi that he had “calculated” the devices were “going to kill about 8 to 16 people,” and that the death toll could reach as many as 60 if the area was crowded. Prosecutors said Balat also warned Kayumi to throw the device as quickly as possible and then described his follow-on plan, saying, “I’m going to say 3, 2, 1, and I’m going to take it out as fast and controlled as possible,” according to the indictment.

In addition, prosecutors said the recordings include Balat telling Kayumi he “was going to just start attacking police,” and that he could “throw (an explosive device) in a cafe,” if the initial plan did not work. The filing did not say whether the men understood they were being recorded by the vehicle’s dashboard camera.

Federal authorities said the case reflects an ISIS-inspired plan to kill as many people as possible, even though the devices thrown at the scene did not explode. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said in a statement that the alleged notes and instructions recovered from the vehicle showed how much “cruelty they had planned,” describing the defendants’ conduct as travel to New York with IEDs intended for an attack.

The men appeared in court last month, and the record cited here includes that Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said at an initial appearance that Balat had “complicated stuff going on” in his life without elaborating. Kayumi’s attorney declined to speak to reporters, and the men did not respond to voice messages left Tuesday evening, according to the indictment coverage.

Both defendants are being held without bail on charges that prosecutors described as including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. They were not required to enter a plea, and their detention remains in place as the case proceeds.