By Derek Vanburskirk
New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned bigotry against Muslims after an alleged “ISIS-inspired” attack took place Saturday.
Two suspects, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested after improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were allegedly thrown at what various news outlets called an “anti-Islam rally” outside Mamdani’s mansion Saturday. (RELATED: Mamdani Dips Hands In Cookie Jar With Every Trick To Make City Look Not Broke)
Mamdani took to X Sunday after the incident, labeling the right-wing influencer who organized the event, Jake Lang, a “white supremacist” whose protest was “rooted in bigotry and racism.”
“Such hate has no place in New York City,” Mamdani said. “It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.”
After condemning bigotry, he said the use of explosives on protesters was “even more disturbing” than the protests. He did not comment on the suspects or the alleged motivations for the attack.
Mamdani gave a prepared statement Monday morning outside the mayor’s mansion, where he denounced the message of the right-wing protesters, claiming it was a “vile protest rooted in white supremacy.”
“I am the first Muslim mayor of our city,” he continued. “Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me, nor is it new for the 1 million or so Muslim New Yorkers who know this city as our home.”
Mamdani said he found the protest “appalling.”
Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi traveled from out of state and “attempted to bring violence” to the city by throwing IEDs with the intent to “injure, maim, or worse.” Mamdani said nothing about the motive or ideologies of the suspects.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke immediately after the mayor and said that although she cannot go into too much detail about the investigation, she confirmed that it was being investigated as an act of “ISIS-inspired terrorism.”
Tisch also said that the bombs were real and could have caused serious injury or death, with one containing a “dangerous and highly volatile home-made explosive.”
“We have been in a heightened state of alert in New York City since the start of hostilities in Iran, and we remain in that posture today,” Tisch said, adding that counterterrorism units are still being deployed in the city. (RELATED: Mamdani Leaves Huge Policing Question Unanswered After ISIS-Linked Bomb Attack)
