Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, a 30-year-old man from Coral Springs, Florida, was arrested on November 20 for allegedly planning to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. He was charged with attempting to use an improvised explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate or foreign commerce, as per court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
An investigation into Yener began in February after a tip-off that he was storing bomb-making schematics in an unlocked storage unit in Coral Springs, according to court documents summarizing the FBI’s findings.
The FBI discovered bomb-making sketches, watches with timers, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics suitable for building explosive devices. They also found that Yener had been conducting online searches related to bomb-making since 2017. Law enforcement alleged that Yener, born in the United States in 1994, expressed an interest in joining a militia.
According to the FBI, Yener informed a confidential informant that he planned to detonate a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange the week before Thanksgiving. He had identified the stock exchange as his target and told an undercover FBI agent, whom he believed was part of a militia, that he wanted to carry out the attack.
Yener allegedly tasked undercover FBI agents with procuring the explosive element for the device and conducting surveillance on the NYSE. He expressed his desire to “wake people up” by targeting the stock exchange to “reboot” the U.S. government. He even allegedly compared the impact of the detonation to that of a small nuclear explosion.
Yener also discussed the possibility of bombing a power plant to disrupt local government and the community. The U.S. District Attorney’s Office for Florida stated in a November 20 statement that Yener intended to wear a disguise while planting the explosive device outside the exchange.
Yener appeared in court on November 20 and is currently in pretrial detention, with the option to request a hearing at a later date. Attempts to contact Yener via listed telephone numbers were unsuccessful, and no lawyer was listed in court records.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
