Dashcam recorded 2 men plotting bombing at NYC protest, indictment says

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Two men charged with bringing homemade bombs to a New York City protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home were recorded discussing an attack plan that prosecutors say was intended to kill as many as 60 people, according to an indictment released Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the recordings were preserved on dashcam audio and video recovered from the vehicle the defendants drove from Pennsylvania to Manhattan ahead of a March 7 attack. Prosecutors said two explosive devices were thrown during the protest, but neither exploded and both men were quickly detained.

In the recordings, prosecutors said Emir Balat, 18, described wanting to target “the government” and “civilians also.” Prosecutors said Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, added “All I know is I want to start terror, bro,” as described in the indictment.

The indictment also describes Balat telling Kayumi that he had “calculated” the devices were “going to kill about 8 to 16 people,” with the possibility of up to 60 deaths if the area was crowded. Prosecutors said Balat warned Kayumi to throw the device as quick as possible and then went over the plan.

Prosecutors said the indictment included Balat’s instructions that, “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 filing. Prosecutors also said Balat told 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.

Investigators also recovered what prosecutors described as a notebook inside the car, which they said outlined an alternative plan for a vehicle attack. Prosecutors said the notebook included locations that encompassed festivals, parades and celebrations.

Prosecutors said Kayumi and Balat lit the homemade devices, which prosecutors described as containing the explosive TATP and shrapnel, during an anti-Islam demonstration hosted by Jake Lang, a far-right activist who has criticized Mamdani. Kayumi and Balat later told police they were inspired by ISIS, according to a federal complaint released last month.

At an initial court appearance last month, Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said Balat had “complicated stuff going on” in his life, without elaborating, according to the indictment reporting. The report said Kayumi’s attorney declined to speak to reporters, and neither man responded to voice messages left Tuesday evening.

Federal prosecutors said both men are being held without bail on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. The defendants were not required to enter a plea. In a statement, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the indictment describes “as alleged” that Balat and Kayumi traveled to New York City with IEDs to kill as many people as possible in an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, and he said the recovered notes and instructions showed “just how much cruelty they had planned,” according to the report.