A 30-year-old South Florida resident, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on November 30 on charges of attempting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, according to federal authorities.
Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Jeffrey Veltri, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, announced the arrest following an extensive investigation by federal and local law enforcement.
Court documents detail an FBI investigation that began in February after a tip alleged Yener, who resides in Coral Springs, was storing bombmaking materials in an unlocked storage unit.
A search of the unit revealed bombmaking sketches, watches with timers, circuit boards, and other components for constructing explosive devices. Authorities also discovered Yener’s internet searches related to bombmaking dating back to 2017.
By June, Yener expressed to an FBI confidential informant his intent to join an anti-government militia and build an explosive device. Later, during interactions with an undercover FBI agent posing as a militia member, Yener disclosed plans to target a business in New York City the week before Thanksgiving. He claimed the bombing would initiate a “reset” of the U.S. government.
“There is one place that would be hella easy … the stock exchange, that would be a great hit. 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,” he told the undercover agent.
Yener allegedly created a remote trigger for the bomb, researched locations to plant the device, and directed FBI undercover agents to assist with surveillance and procurement of bomb materials. He recorded a video message outlining his motivations and anticipated the explosion’s devastation, describing it as akin to a “small nuke” that would destroy the building and kill anyone inside.
An undercover FBI agent also recorded him saying, “I feel like Bin Laden.”
Yener was taken into custody without incident and appeared in court this afternoon, where he agreed to pretrial detention but retained the right to request a hearing.
The FBI conducted the investigation with support from the Coral Springs Police Department and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
