Two teenagers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of trying to support ISIS with a failed homemade-bomb attack outside the New York City mayor’s residence last month.
Their brief appearance in Manhattan federal court was the first time that the defendants, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, had spoken in an open courtroom since being charged with planning a deadly attack in the name of ISIS, also known as the Islamic State. The charges against them include providing material support to a terrorist organization and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted on the highest charge, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The two young men, both from Pennsylvania, were arrested on March 7 after a device packed with explosive material was thrown at an anti-Muslim protest outside Gracie Mansion, the Manhattan home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji. The mayor and his wife were not home at the time; the device did not detonate, and no one was injured.
Both defendants pledged allegiance to ISIS while in custody, according to an indictment, and Mr. Balat told officers he had hoped to plan an attack “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing.
The two men entered the courtroom Wednesday with their hands and feet shackled, flanked by U.S. marshals. Mr. Kayumi avoided eye contact as he sat down; Mr. Balat hung his head.
In the gallery, Mr. Kayumi’s family members filled an entire row of seats, some of them weeping.
Jane Chong, a prosecutor, told the court that federal agents in Pennsylvania had seized over a dozen electronic devices from the defendants’ homes and were combing through their social media accounts. Ms. Chong said that she expected a large cache of evidence to be extracted from the devices.
Prosecutors have described the defendants driving a car packed with explosives from Pennsylvania to New York in hopes of killing up to 60 people at the protest, which was called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer.” The protest, directed at Mr. Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor, was organized by Jake Lang, a right-wing influencer and Jan. 6 defendant who was pardoned by President Trump last year.
After Mr. Balat and Mr. Kayumi were arrested, they waived their Miranda rights, making statements to the police, according to the indictment. At the police station house, the indictment says, Mr. Balat requested a piece of paper from an officer and scribbled a defiant message with misspellings: “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegience to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu kuffar! Emir B.”
Lawyers for both the defendants declined to comment. They are due back in court on June 16.
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