A south Florida man has been arrested by the FBI on accusations of plotting to blow up the New York Stock Exchange, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Harun Abdul-Malik Yener was charged in Miami-Dade County with “attempting to use an improvised explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate or foreign commerce,” prosecutors wrote in the criminal complaint.
Feds allege his target was the heart of Wall Street.
Officials describe Yener, 30, as a south Florida resident who was born in the U.S. and is currently homeless.
Their investigation into Yener began in February after receiving a tip he was building a bomb inside an unlocked storage unit in Coral Springs, Fla.
Upon searching the unit, FBI special agents discovered “bomb-making sketches, numerous watches with timers, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics … that could be used for constructing explosive devices,” the feds said.
An investigation of Yener’s electronic devices also revealed he had repeatedly searched the internet for information about building bombs going back to 2017.
In a subsequent interview, Yener allegedly confessed that he had “previously attempted to join domestic extremist groups” and “considered joining and fighting for ISIS in Iraq.”
Months later, while speaking to an undercover agent he believed was a member of an anti-government militia, he identified the Stock Exchange as the target of his bomb plot. He allegedly said he planned to travel to New York and carry out the attack during the week of Nov. 18, 2024.
The goal of Yener’s alleged terror campaign was to “reset” the United States government, according to the feds. He said he planned to publicly release a recorded message of his demands shortly after the bombing. Those demands included mass deportation of illegal immigrants and undocumented migrants, and the discontinuation of “funding and housing for immigrants and migrants.”
Authorities said Yener compared the explosive he planned to use to “a small nuke” that would kill anyone inside the Stock Exchange and do considerable damage outside the building.
If the attack was a success, he planned to next target oil rigs, investigators said.
“I have nothing to lose, like, I got no wife, kids, you know what I mean?” Yener allegedly told one undercover agent who helped build the case against him.
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