Nov. 20 (UPI) — Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a homeless man from Florida accused of planning to blow up the New York Stock Exchange this week.
According to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, first reported by Court Watch, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, 30, sought a “reboot” or “reset” of the U.S. government and chose the New York Stock Exchange as his target “because it will wake people up.”
Amid allegations he intended to blow up the financial institution this week, Yener recorded multiple audio recordings to be sent to NBC News following the attack, which he described would be “just the beginning of a new era. A new revolution.”
“Be warned, if you raise your fist, we will cut them off. If you kick at us, we will break your legs. If you speak ill of us, we will chop out your tongue. If you aren’t willing to stand, then you will fall a victim,” he said, according to the court document.
When handed the microphone to record his statement, Yener remarked: “I feel like Bin Laden.”
The FBI began investigating Yener in February after receiving a tip that he was storing bomb-making schematics in a Coal Spring, Fla., storage unit.
After securing permission from Yener and obtaining a search warrant, agents searched the unit in early March and discovered spiral notebooks containing drawings and diagrams for various explosives, including landmines and missiles. Notes stating “preparing for combat,” “The day for battle is near” and “Soon the United States and her allies will attack” were also found in the notebooks.
Numerous watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used to construction explosive devices were discovered in the unit, the court document stated.
A search of his Google accounts uncovered evidence that he had been searching for bomb-making information as early as 2017. He also told FBI agents in an interview that in 2015, people claiming to be members of the Islamic State contacted him, but did not join them believing they would not succeed in their mission.
“I am just waiting for some kind of hole to open up and I can go, ‘ah, there it is,’ — I’ll know it when I see it,” he told the FBI, according to the affidavit.
In late June, Yener began communicating with a confidential FBI source, whom he told he was a member of a group that had tried and failed to join anti-government, White supremacy groups the Boogaloo movement and the Proud Boys.
Over the summer, the two discussed bomb-making concerns and potential targets. During an in-person recorded meeting, Yener told the confidential source that they needed to prepare for civil unrest following the presidential election, and that he was gathering supplies for a bomb. All he was missing was a dependable receiver and detonator, he said, according to the court document.
In September, Yener met an undercover FBI agent, who said he was a member of a militia and offered Yener help with his plan.
The next month, Yener began constructing and testing an improvised explosive device at a secure facility provided by the FBI. He also directed the undercover agent to purchase items and tools he needed. It was also at this time that Yener decided the New York Stock Exchange would be his target.
“There is one place that would be hella easy,” he said, according to the court document, “… 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.”
On Nov. 8, he sent several Facebook Messenger messages to the undercover agent that appeared to be a draft list of demands from the U.S. government that included the mass deportation of immigrants and undocumented migrants and the ending of government funding for this group of people. He also called for the ending of arms sales and funding to “foreign entities.”
He then made the recordings to be sent to media the day of his planned attack on Nov. 12.
“Both before and after recording the aforementioned statement, Yener continued to discuss a potential second wave of attacks following Yener’s bombing of the NYSE,” the court document states.