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00:00Working alongside federal agents, they have been at the center of this investigation.
00:05Members of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including NYPD Task Force officers,
00:10have executed search warrants at Kayumi and Balotz residences in Pennsylvania.
00:16Another important note, the two defendants arrived in New York City roughly one hour before they were arrested.
00:23According to our investigation, they crossed the George Washington Bridge with a license plate reader ping at 11.36 a
00:30.m. on Saturday,
00:31parked in front of 48 East End Avenue between 81st and 82nd Streets at 12.05 p.m. and walked
00:40to the protest.
00:41They ignited and threw the devices at approximately 12.15 p.m. and were immediately arrested thereafter.
00:48I want to thank our great United States Attorney, Jay Clayton, for his extraordinary partnership,
00:54as well as the prosecutors from SDNY for everything that they do,
00:58especially for their work on this investigation and their forthcoming prosecution.
01:03I also want to thank the FBI, especially James Barnacle, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field
01:09Office,
01:10and Rob Kassane, the FBI's special agent in charge for counterterrorism, as well as the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
01:17We are grateful always for the FBI agents and assistant U.S. attorneys who have been working around the clock
01:24with us since Saturday.
01:26Finally, and most importantly, I want to recognize the members of the NYPD who responded on Saturday and in the
01:32hours that followed.
01:33The officers assigned to that protest who ran toward a lit, improvised, explosive device.
01:39The bomb squad technicians who secured and analyzed the devices.
01:42The detectives and analysts who worked through the night to develop this investigation.
01:47And the countless members of service who helped ensure the security of the people of New York City
01:53during a very tense and dangerous situation.
01:56The NYPD remains on heightened alert, and our mission is simple, and that is to keep New Yorkers safe.
02:04That responsibility belongs to the nearly 35,000 members of this department who stand watch over this city
02:11and who are prepared to respond whenever and wherever danger appears.
02:17On Saturday, we saw that commitment in action.
02:21Now I will turn it over to our United States Attorney, Jay Clayton.
02:31Thank you, Commissioner Tish.
02:34I'm very proud to be here today with Commissioner Tish and Director Barnacle,
02:40representing this joint effort to keep our city safe.
02:45And I'm going to pick up where the commissioner left off.
02:48I watched the video of New York Police Department officers running to the danger, knowing that these might be explosive
03:00devices, knowing that they might explode.
03:03That is the kind of commitment that makes this city great.
03:11Thank all your officers.
03:12That's tremendous.
03:13It makes me proud.
03:13It makes me so proud as a New Yorker.
03:16As Commissioner Tish noted, we charge two individuals today, Balot and Kayumi.
03:24They are charged federally with five counts.
03:30Attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
03:37Use of a weapon of mass destruction.
03:41Transportation of explosive materials.
03:45Interstate transportation and receipt of explosives.
03:48And unlawful possession of destructive devices.
03:54The facts alleged in the complaint are just that.
03:57Allegations.
03:58In our great system of justice, they must be proven.
04:02And the defendants have the presumption of innocence.
04:06Commissioner Tish did an exceptional job outlining the facts alleged in the complaint.
04:12These were ISIS-inspired actions.
04:16And it is chilling that they wanted to do something more than the Boston Marathon.
04:23More than three deaths.
04:27Free speech and peaceable assembly are the bedrock of American democracy.
04:33But violence is not protected.
04:36And it's not protected protest.
04:38It's not protected speech.
04:41In New York, violence, particularly violence that has a terrorist bent, violence that is meant to chill free speech, violence
04:55that is meant to keep us from assembling peaceably, will be met with swift justice.
05:02This investigation remains ongoing, and we encourage anyone with further information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI,
05:14C-A-L-L-FBI.
05:16In closing, I want to express my deep gratitude for, again, the NYPD and all of those folks in my
05:27office who immediately answered the call and worked around the clock.
05:31And particularly, in particular, the heads of our National Security and International Narcotics Unit, Eleanor Tarlow and Jason Richmond, and
05:40our line U.S. attorneys, who I don't think have slept, which is why we are here so quickly, Jonathan
05:47Bodonsky and Jane Chong.
05:49Thank you all very much.
05:52I'll now turn it over to Director Barnacle.
06:01Thank you, U.S. Attorney Clayton.
06:03My name is James Barnacle.
06:04I'm the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office.
06:08Today, alongside our partners in the New York City Police Department and the Southern District of New York,
06:13our office has announced federal terrorism charges against Amir Balot and Ibrahim Khayymi.
06:20On Saturday, March 7th, these two individuals allegedly threw one suspicious device and attempted to throw another during a protest
06:28outside Gracie Mansion.
06:29As the commissioner noted, if it weren't for the bravery of two New York's finest, we could have had a
06:36much more tragic incident.
06:37Yesterday, on Sunday, March 8th, a third device was recovered from a vehicle on East End Avenue.
06:44Upon careful analysis by NYPD bomb techs and FBI special agent bomb technicians,
06:50it was determined that these items were improvised explosive devices, IEDs,
06:56designed to inflict serious injury and death to those in the vicinity of the intended blast zone.
07:02Both subjects have stated they were inspired by ISIS, a designated terrorist organization, to conduct this attack.
07:11Balot and Khayymi sought to incite fear and mass suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack
07:18in the backyard of an elected city official.
07:23This weekend was just another example of the elevated threat environment we're currently living in.
07:30Let me be clear, the FBI will not tolerate those who use violence against targets in New York City
07:37to broadcast their terroristic ideologies.
07:42This would not have been possible.
07:44The outcome we're talking about today would not have been possible without the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force,
07:51led by Special Agent in Charge Rob Kassane,
07:54our Special Agent Bob technicians, as well as our partners at the NYPD and the Southern District of New York.
08:00I would like to thank Commissioner Jessica Tisch for your department's unwavering partnership,
08:05and especially for the bravery of your officers who ran towards danger to protect this city and our residents.
08:13Thank you, U.S. Attorney Clayton,
08:15for your team's determination to bring weighty criminal charges against these defendants
08:20and hold them accountable for the reprehensible actions from this past weekend.
08:25Additionally, I'd like to extend my appreciation to the Customs and Border Protection,
08:30the Port Authority Police Department, the New York State Police,
08:34Homeland Security Investigations,
08:36as well as the FBI divisions in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
08:42Those offices assisted us throughout the weekend.
08:44The collective efforts across all these agencies, including those who could not join us today,
08:51thwarted a potentially devastating day in this city.
08:53Rest assured, the FBI and the New York City Police Department
08:57remain at the ready to defend the homeland against anyone seeking to harm our community.
09:02We're continuing to chase down all leads and tips in this ongoing investigation.
09:07As U.S. Attorney mentioned, anyone that has tips out there,
09:11we encourage you to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI,
09:15or you can submit your tips online at FBI.gov.
09:21Turn it over to Commissioner for any questions.
09:23All right, so we will now take any questions you have on topic only, please.
09:29We will do our best to answer,
09:31but as I mentioned at the earlier press conference today,
09:33we may be limited in some of the things we can say
09:36because we don't want to say anything that will in any way
09:39make these fine prosecutors work more difficult.
09:42Thank you, Commissioner.
09:43Again, we do on-topic questions.
09:45Go to Gloria first.
09:48Thank you very much.
09:50I hear what you said about what the individuals stated regarding ISIS,
09:55but do you have any information yet about whether they were
09:58or actually recruited by ISIS?
10:00And is there anything you can say about whether they were targeting anything
10:06or any person specifically?
10:07The mayor said earlier today that it was known this protest was going to take place
10:12for about a week.
10:13So did they come here specifically to target that group,
10:16or were they targeting the mayor, any other group?
10:20So we're not going to be able to answer the first question at this time
10:23for the reasons I stated earlier.
10:26It is clear that they showed up in front of Gracie Manchin
10:32for their planned counter-protest in response to the original protest
10:38that was planned by a Jake Lang-affiliated group.
10:45Bloomberg News.
10:47Both of these suspects have extensive Middle East travel histories,
10:51which may be inconsequential.
10:54They both are Middle Eastern.
10:56How are you squaring that with this attack?
10:59And then secondly, can you just talk about the nature?
11:02These are two young men, not even 21,
11:06and the nature of radicalization reaching young people.
11:10So on the first part of your question,
11:12we're not able to answer that at this time,
11:15although, of course, as part of our investigation,
11:16we are aware of international travel.
11:19And I'm going to ask Rebecca Weiner,
11:21our Deputy Commissioner of Intel and Counterterrorism,
11:24to talk about radicalization of youth.
11:31And this is very much in keeping with the trend
11:33that we are seeing among ISIS-inspired adherents,
11:38both in the country as well as throughout the West,
11:42younger and younger individuals who are radicalizing
11:47and mobilizing to violence.
11:49And this is taking place against the backdrop of social media,
11:53the dynamics of online culture.
11:55It's not limited to ISIS.
11:56It's across the ideological spectrum.
11:59Younger people mobilizing to violence,
12:01something we're tracking very closely.
12:07Had any of these two individuals been arrested before?
12:14Do they have any type of record?
12:16And how much time are they facing?
12:17And if I could get a quick, a third question in,
12:20can you describe how destructive those devices could have been,
12:23how many people could have been impacted if they were successful?
12:26So I believe that the two individuals in question
12:29do not have criminal histories or criminal backgrounds.
12:34And, Rebecca, if you could explain more about that IED and TATP specifically
12:39and what it was capable of.
12:43As the commissioner mentioned,
12:45TATP is highly dangerous and extremely volatile.
12:49And the NYPD and FBI bomb squads and bomb technicians
12:55did do controlled detonations of the two IEDs
12:58from the protest,
13:00which revealed a significant explosion.
13:03It's really important to note
13:05that had these IEDs functioned the way
13:08the perpetrators allegedly wanted them to,
13:11they could have caused death, destruction,
13:14extremely dangerous compound,
13:16an extremely dangerous place deployed.
13:23For Commissioner Tish,
13:25and I think also for Commissioner Weiner,
13:27what was the assessment of this event
13:30in the days leading up to it
13:32in terms of your concerns, A and B?
13:34What role did SRG play?
13:36Were they there in a primary capacity
13:38or in a backup capacity?
13:39So we had been planning
13:41for this protest for several days.
13:44Whenever there is both a protest
13:46and a counter-protest,
13:48that's something that the NYPD
13:50plans for very deliberately
13:53to avoid confrontations
13:55and for all of the other reasons
13:57you might expect.
13:58So this was no different
13:59and there had been
14:00very thoughtful preparation
14:02for this event
14:03due to the combined protest-counter-protest
14:06and the location.
14:07And I can just answer,
14:09I can just answer the question
14:11about SRG.
14:12SRG was in the area of the protest.
14:15They were there on,
14:17in a backup capacity.
14:19We often have SRG around in an area
14:22if we think that it has the potential
14:24to get heated.
14:25So they were there.
14:26They were brought in after mayhem,
14:31as soon as mayhem ensued.
14:32How do you make that assessment?
14:34We've got a piece of the big rock.
14:35I'll call it.
14:36Well, just a quick follow-up.
14:37How do you make that assessment?
14:39Our commanders on the ground
14:40will make the assessment
14:41about when to call in SRG.
14:44But certainly, with this protest,
14:47we did have SRG on standby
14:50and prepared
14:51because we thought it had
14:55the ability to get interesting,
15:01given who was there.
15:04Marino?
15:05Sorry.
15:06You got it.
15:07Commissioner, Joe Marino, New York Post.
15:10Commissioner,
15:11are you looking at changing
15:13your posture towards policing protests,
15:17given the fact these two individuals
15:19were not known to you?
15:20And is it causing you to reassess
15:23additional resources you may need
15:25from an intelligence or patrol standpoint?
15:28So as you know,
15:29the NYPD remains on heightened alert.
15:32We really have been on heightened alert
15:34since the hostilities in Iran broke out
15:38about one week ago,
15:41which means extra counterterrorism deployments,
15:44heavy weapons teams, drones, aviation,
15:47this department in particular,
15:49our intelligence and counterterrorism unit
15:52and teams have been out there
15:54in full force for the past week,
15:58as they are anytime something happens,
16:01either in the city or around the world,
16:03that we feel we need to deploy for.
16:07Look, this incident did occur at a protest,
16:11but it didn't have to have occurred at a protest.
16:15So this doesn't change our posture
16:18specifically on protests.
16:22The NYPD has been policing protests
16:24and ensuring New Yorkers' ability
16:26to exercise their First Amendment rights
16:28safely and lawfully for decades,
16:31but never more so, frankly,
16:34than over the past two and a half years
16:37where we have just seen a huge increase
16:40in the number of protests.
16:42And our officers,
16:44both our community affairs officers,
16:46our patrol officers,
16:47and our SRG officers are well-trained
16:50and certainly well-practiced at doing so.
16:56Thanks, Brett.
16:57Hey, Commissioner, thank you.
16:59Given the threat picture
17:00that you've been outlining,
17:02how worrying is it
17:03that a couple of guys from Bucks County
17:05can just drive into Manhattan
17:07with potentially viable devices?
17:10Is it alarming,
17:11and is there anything you can do to stop it?
17:13Go ahead, Brett.
17:18So when we talk about
17:19heightened threat environment
17:20and when we talk about
17:21lone actor threat,
17:23this is another incredibly sobering reminder.
17:26We had one just a week ago
17:28in Austin, Texas.
17:30And that's the reason
17:31that we surge our personnel,
17:33as the Commissioner just mentioned,
17:36we've been doing
17:37since the onset of the war overseas in Iran
17:40for the last 10 days
17:41to harden targets.
17:43Of course,
17:44some individuals
17:45will mobilize to violence
17:47without tripping the wires
17:50that we extensively set.
17:52And in that point,
17:53then it is the bravery
17:54of our officers
17:55who contend with a threat
17:57as it's unfolding on our streets,
18:00and in this case,
18:01incredibly bravely.
18:03And I would just add
18:05there's a few pieces to this, right?
18:07There is our intelligence
18:09and counterterrorism operation,
18:12and I have to say
18:13there is no other city
18:15in the world
18:16that has an intelligence
18:17and counterterrorism capacity
18:19quite like the NYPDs.
18:22But then,
18:23as Deputy Commissioner said,
18:25we also have
18:25our well-trained officers
18:27on the ground
18:29doing deployments
18:30to catch anything.
18:39Tony DiStefano,
18:40Newsday.
18:41I guess this is
18:41for Commissioner Weiner.
18:43The two devices,
18:45were they,
18:46most say it as being
18:48TATP?
18:49I can do that.
18:50The assistant director
18:51talked of the third device
18:53being improvised explosive.
18:55Was that also known quantity
18:57of TATP or something else?
19:00So the,
19:02let's talk about
19:03the first two devices first.
19:04They were both brought
19:05on Saturday
19:06to Rodman's Neck
19:08where our bomb technicians
19:09and FBI experts
19:11looked at them jointly.
19:13We assessed
19:15quite comprehensively
19:17one of the devices
19:18and we determined
19:19that that device
19:20contained TATP.
19:23We didn't do
19:24the same type
19:25of thorough investigation
19:27of the second device,
19:29but instead decided
19:31to neutralize
19:32the two devices
19:32and take samples
19:34from both devices
19:35and send them over
19:36to an FBI lab
19:37where further testing,
19:39including for the existence
19:41of TATP
19:42in the second device
19:43will be done.
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