Authorities arrested and charged a Florida man on Wednesday for allegedly planning to bomb the New York Stock Exchange the week before Thanksgiving.
Harun Abdul-Malik Yener discussed with FBI informants and undercover employees that he wanted to force a “reboot” or “reset” of the U.S. government, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida. “The Stock Exchange, we want to hit that, because it will wake people up,” he said.
The man was charged with “attempting to use an improvised explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate or foreign commerce,” the complaint states. In an attached affidavit, an FBI special agent said there was probable cause that Yener would have followed through in detonating an improvised explosive device outside the New York Stock Exchange this week.
The bureau had been investigating the suspect since February after agents received a tip that he was “storing bombmaking schematics in an unlocked storage unit in Coral Springs, Florida,” per the court document. Yener was described as homeless.
The FBI searched the storage unit in March, finding spiral-bound notebooks with drawings and diagrams of landmines, explosives, missiles, and other improvised explosive devices. In addition to the bombmaking sketches, agents found watches with timers, about ten sets of Bluetooth wireless headphones, and electronic circuit-board components that could be used to construct explosive devices.
At the time, Yener told agents he had experience building “rockets” that required very specific chemical mixtures to launch. Otherwise, the “volatile” chemicals would explode if mixed incorrectly, he explained.
Yener also admitted that he was recruited by ISIS via Facebook Messenger in 2015. He ultimately declined the offer, thinking the terrorist group would not succeed in achieving its goals. However, he did admit he wanted to take action within the U.S., but an opportunity had yet to present itself.
“I am just waiting for some kind of hole to open up and I can go, ah, there it is — I’ll know it when I see it,” he told the agents who interviewed him.
Later, Yener revealed he attempted to join the Boogaloo Boys and Proud Boys. The domestic extremist groups turned him down, though, because of his obsession with pursuing martyrdom.
The FBI kept tabs on him through the summer and fall leading up to his arrest.
In October, Yener settled on bombing the New York Stock Exchange after naming other potential targets while conversing with an FBI undercover employee.
“There is one place that would be hella easy . . . the stock exchange, that would be a great hit,” he said. “Tons of people would support it. They would see it and think dude, this guy makes sense, they are [profanity] robbing us. So that’s perfect.”
As recently as November 12, the Florida resident explained his motivation for the would-be bombing in a series of audio recordings that he would have sent to NBC News the day of the attack or the day after.
“What you’ve just witnessed at the Stock Exchange and California was just the beginning of a new era. A new revolution,” Yener said last week, calling on others to join his cause. “Our war is with the government.”
It remains unclear which day this week the attack would have unfolded.