Homeless man detained for planning to blow up the New York Stock Exchange
Kyiv • UNN
The FBI has arrested a homeless man who was in possession of bomb-making materials and was planning an attack on the NYSE. The suspect wanted to carry out the attack a week before Thanksgiving to “reset” the US government.
In the United States, a homeless man from Florida was arrested and charged with conspiring to detonate a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), according to court documents, UNN reports citing the BBC.
Details
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Haroon Abdul-Malik Yener is charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce.
According to the FBI, he allegedly recorded himself saying, "I feel like [Osama] bin Laden," a reference to the former al-Qaeda leader responsible for the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Federal officials launched an investigation into him in February after receiving information that he was storing bomb-making supplies in an unlocked warehouse.
Agents searched the Coral Springs facility and said they found "bomb-making blueprints, numerous timed clocks, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics," according to court documents.
The federal public defender in the Southern District of Florida, who was assigned to represent Yener, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the documents, investigators said that Yener allegedly told the undercover agent last week that he planned to carry out the attack a week before Thanksgiving, which is on November 28.
"It would be a big blow," Yener allegedly told the agent, saying that an attack in Lower Manhattan would be "damn easy.
He also allegedly conducted numerous Internet searches on how to make bombs and told agents that he planned to wear a disguise during the attack and release a recorded message to the media.
Investigators said that Mr. Yener's alleged "motivation for bombing the NYSE was to achieve a ‘reset’ and/or ‘restart’ of the United States government.
Yener is said to have told undercover agents that the explosion would be "like a small nuclear bomb going off" and that "everything outside" the building "will be destroyed" and "everything inside will be killed.
He allegedly ran a YouTube channel with videos describing how to make explosives from household items.
Yener, a resident of South Florida, is homeless, according to court documents.
He appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday and will be detained while he awaits trial, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Addendum
This is the latest arrest in the last few months related to US national security.
In October, a man from Afghanistan was arrested for allegedly planning an attack to coincide with the election day earlier this month.
US arrests Afghan national for planning election day attackOct 9 2024, 06:39 AM • 11774 views
And in August, a man from Pakistan was arrested for allegedly planning to assassinate American officials in favor of Iran.
