The FBI appears to have foiled an attempt to blow up the New York Stock Exchange.
On Wednesday, FBI agents arrested Harun Abdul-Malik Yener for his role in a suspected plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. He is charged with “attempting to use an improvised explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate or foreign commerce,” according to court documents.
It is believed Yener wanted to “reboot” or “reset” the United States government by remotely detonating a bomb he placed in the NYSE that would have been “like a small nuke went off.” According to the investigation, Yener bragged that his bomb would have killed many people, claiming that any person outside the NYSE would have been “wiped out” and “anything inside there would be killed.”
“There is one place that would be hella easy…the stock exchange, that would be a great hit,” Yener said to undercover agents. “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.”
Yener also described the NYSE as an ideal target because it was easy to access and had many security vulnerabilities, according to court documents.
“I’ve already seen it, I know the layout of it, there is barely any security,” Yener said.
The FBI began investigating Yener in February 2024 after a tip suggested he was storing bombmaking materials in a storage unit in Coral Springs, Florida, according to court documents. During a search, the FBI found “bombmaking sketches, numerous watches with timers, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics” used in making explosives. During an interview with law enforcement officials, Yener revealed he attempted to join “domestic terrorist groups” and had experience building “rockets and bombs.”
During another part of the investigation, Yener met with an undercover operative who Yener believed was part of a militia. In this interaction, he revealed that he chose the NYSE to be his target for a planned terrorist attack and that November 18 was the date he selected for the bombing. He planned to wear a disguise such as a “florist, mailman, or FedEx Driver” to “plant the device” and record a message “to be delivered to the press about his reasons for the attack.”
Earlier in the year, while communicating with a confidential source who was undercover but earned the trust of Yener, he mentioned other possible targets for his planned terrorist attack, “including local retailers, stadiums, and schools.” Yener described several scenarios in which he wore a suicide vest and entered “a Walmart on Black Friday,” “a crowded football stadium during a football game,” or “a school auditorium during a children’s Christmas play.”
Yener also discussed other targets with undercover agents and different methods for his attack. In one instance, he described going to a mall to find a drone that could carry “a remotely detachable explosive, such as a grenade, but that none of the drones sold by retailers were large enough to support an explosive device.”
By October, Yener had refined his plans to bomb the NYSE early in the morning. He anticipated less security at the time and that it would be easier to manage to flee the scene and not get caught. He did acknowledge, however, the possibility of not “making the trip back.”
“I mean let’s face it, we’re going up there, there’s a chance that we ain’t making that trip back,” Yener said to an undercover agent.
“Honestly, bro . . .once it goes off, I kinda like, because I want it to go off around 2-2:30ish in the morning, but once—because if it happens in the morning bro, there, there’s less cops in the morning,” Yener said, according to court documents. “[T]here’s less resources, SWAT ain’t going to be that available. So, if we hit them in the morning, we have, like I honestly want us to hit that,” “get in the car,” and “get the [profanity] out of there.”
“The day for battle is coming, I’m sharpening my sword,” Yener said.
By November, Yener made multiple recordings of his demand statement. He had planned for it to arrive at NBC News on the day of his bombing. While talking to an undercover agent, Yener expressed enthusiasm for the attack and how it made him feel.
“I feel like Bin Laden,” he said.
On November 12, Yener recorded his message that was to be played on the day of the attack.
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“What you’ve just witnessed at the Stock Exchange and California was just the beginning of a new era. A new revolution,” Yener said in his message. He continued to say that his “war” was with the government. He encouraged others to join his movement but warned others not to get in the way.
“Be warned, if you raise your fist, we will cut them off,” Yener said in his message. “If you kick at us, we will break your legs. If you speak ill of us, we will chop out your tongue. If you aren’t willing to stand, then you will fall a victim.”
On November 20, law enforcement officials arrested Yener.
