WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice has charged two “alleged ISIS-inspired terrorists” who authorities say attempted to bomb a New York City protest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Monday. Defendants Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, are charged with five counts, including knowingly attempting to provide “material support or resources” to ISIS, a foreign terrorist organization; use of a weapon of mass destruction (an explosive device); transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives “with the knowledge and intent that it would be used to kill, injure, and intimidate;” and unlawful possession of destructive devices. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation,” Bondi said in a statement on Monday. “Our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant.” The two alleged terrorists are accused of attempting to detonate explosive devices near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan during a protest in the area, according to the unsealed DOJ complaint. Gracie Mansion is the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The protest was “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer,” and there was also a counterprotest called “Run Nazis Out of New York City.” “Preliminary results of testing of one of the devices indicates that it contained a quantity of triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a highly volatile explosive material used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade,” the complaint states. After the New York City Police Department arrested them, both Balat and Kayumi made statements “referring to ISIS,” authorities said. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks alongside New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (L) during a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images) “For example,” the complaint says, “as Kayumi was being placed inside an NYPD vehicle to be transported, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to Kayumi and asked, in substance and in part, why he had done this. Kayumi responded, in part and as captured on NYPD body-worn camera footage, ‘ISIS.'” Both Balat and Kayumi also discussed ISIS in recorded post-arrest statements that they made after they received their Miranda rights, the complaint says. Balat wrote on a piece of paper that he had “pledged allegiance to the Islamic State,” and Kayumi said that he was affiliated with ISIS, watched ISIS propaganda on his phone, and was partly inspired to “carry out his actions that day by ISIS.” Balat also said they wanted to carry out an even bigger attack than the Boston Marathon, which he said caused only “three deaths.” Around 12:15 pm on Sunday, Balat ignited and threw an explosive device toward the area where the protestors were gathered, according to the complaint. Pictures show the alleged terrorist holding the device. Immediately after he allegedly threw it, he ran to another location down the block where he “received a second item.” After he allegedly ignited it, he dropped the device near several police officers, ran away from them, and jumped over a barricade before he was tackled and arrested by the NYPD. His cohort, Kayumi, was also arrested at the scene. When Balat was arrested, he had a Turkish government identification card on his person that identified him as “Emir Balat” as well as a Pennsylvania driver’s license with his photograph and name. Authorities identified Kayumi through Border Patrol facial-recognition databases, the complaint states. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.