FBI Foils Bomb Threat Against NY Stock Exchange

A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with a plot to "reboot" the US government by detonating a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange with a remote-controlled device, according to the FBI. Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, 30, of Coral Springs, Florida, was charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce. The FBI began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was storing "bomb-making schematics" in a storage unit, per the AP. They found bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices, according to the FBI. Yener had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, per the agency.

Yener also told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving, and that the stock exchange in Lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target. "The stock exchange, we want to hit that, because it will wake people up," he told undercover FBI agents, according to court documents. Yener, who was described as "unhoused," wanted to bomb the stock exchange in order to "reboot" the US government, explaining that it would be "like a small nuke went off," killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents. In the last month, he'd rewired two-way radios so they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives, per the court documents.

Yener had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits trial. He was known to post videos on YouTube channels about making explosives and fireworks from household items, and he had a history of making threats, according to court documents. He was fired last year from a restaurant in Coconut Creek, Florida, after his ex-supervisor said he threatened to "go Parkland shooter in this place." He was also part of a small group that tried to join the far-right anti-government group the Boogaloo Bois and extremist group the Proud Boys but was denied membership because he said he wanted "to pursue martyrdom," according to court documents.

(More New York Stock Exchange stories.)