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Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, 30, of Coral Springs, Florida, was
charged with attempt 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 “bombmaking schematics” in a storage unit.
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. He
had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since
2017, according to the FBI.
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 U.S. 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 had rewired two-way radios so that they
could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and
planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives,
according to court documents.
Yener had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and
will be detained while he awaits a trial.
He was known to post videos on a YouTube channel about making
explosives and fireworks from household items, and had a history
of making threats, according to court documents. He was fired
last year from a restaurant in Coconut Creek, Florida, after his
former 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.
The news was first reported by the website CourtWatch.
Calls to telephone numbers listed for Harun Abdul-Malik Yener in
public records rang unanswered and a lawyer was not listed in
court records.
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