A defendant in an explosive device-throwing case near Gracie Towers gave the Islamic State salute as he was led away from a police station in shackles on Monday.Led by a police officer and an FBI agent, 18-year-old Emir Balat raised his right index finger and smiled at the media. Barratt, wearing a black T-shirt and beige pants, made the gesture before an officer next to him slapped his hand.Barrat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on Saturday after throwing homemade “Mother of Satan” bombs at protesters outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Upper East Side home.New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tish confirmed that Saturday’s incident was being treated as an attempted, Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack. Both men are expected to face federal charges on Monday.Barratt is accused of igniting and throwing the “Mother of Satan” improvised explosive device near police around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, according to police and sources. Police said the device consisted of a sports drink bottle containing the volatile explosive material TATP, contained in a glass jar surrounded by nuts and bolts, which could have been fatal if detonated.Law enforcement sources told The Washington Post that Barat used the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) after being interviewed by police.Barratt, a student in Pennsylvania’s Neshaminy School District, was caught on police body camera saying after his arrest that “we take action” when someone insults the name of the Prophet Muhammad, a law enforcement source said.When asked in a police interview why he carried out the failed attack, Qayoumi allegedly said he did it for ISIS, according to the source.Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News reporter CB Cotton that the two teenagers reportedly made pro-Islamic State comments and admitted to watching Islamic terror propaganda videos while in police custody.According to reports, Barat’s parents are from Türkiye but became naturalized citizens in 2017. Barratt reportedly grew up in a four-bed, two-bathroom home in suburban Langhorne, Pennsylvania, worth an estimated $653,000, while his alleged assistant lived in a $2.25 million six-bedroom home near the New Jersey border.Following Barratt’s arrest, agents were seen searching his home and a “terror investigation” was reportedly underway.
