This article originally appeared onZeroHedgeand was republished with permission.
When “suspicious devices” turned up outside Gracie Mansion on Saturdayduring dueling protests, the media quickly sought to gaslight the public about what really happened.
“Two people in custody after ‘suspicious devices’ ignited outside NYC mayor’s official residence,” NBC New York reported.
However, despite the narrative that was initially pushed by the media,the suspect who allegedly lit and threw the two improvised explosive devicesnear Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence was actuallyaMuslim counter-protester.
And by Monday morning, federal authorities were calling it ISIS-inspired terrorism.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch stood at a press conference alongside Mamdani and confirmed that suspects Amir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were arrested on Saturday and remained in custody. Both men were being prosecuted in federal court in Manhattan. Kayumi is arich kidwhose family came from Afghanistan.
Bothreportedlymade pro-ISIS statements while in custody.Federal agents have already executed search warrants in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the two men lived, and at a related address in New Jersey.
Investigators are also reviewing the suspects’ travel history, including trips to Turkey and locations described as potential terror training grounds.
“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death,” Tisch said in a post following the incident. NYPD sources added that the devices were packed with nuts, bolts, and screws, stuffed inside taped canisters fitted with fuses and filled with a chemical substance. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force responded alongside local authorities.
According toThe New York Times,Police Commissioner Jessica Tischsaidthe explosive device contained TATP—short for triacetone triperoxide—a white, crystalline explosive that can be made from commonly available precursor materials. The compound has been linked to ISIS in past terrorist plots, including the November 2015 Paris attacks.
Source: The Vigilant Fox
