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FBI arrests man accused of planning attack on New York Stock Exchange

FBI arrests man accused of planning attack on New York Stock Exchange

(AP) – A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with plotting to “reboot” the U.S. government this week by planting a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange and detonating it 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 to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce.

The FBI launched an investigation in February after receiving a tip that Yener was hiding “bomb-making schemes” in a warehouse. They found bomb-making drawings, several clocks with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used to make explosive devices, according to the FBI. According to the FBI, he had also been searching online for things related to bomb making since 2017.

Yener also told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb a week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular place to target.

“We want to attack the Stock Exchange because it will wake people up,” he told undercover FBI agents, according to court documents.

Yener, described as “homeless” according to court documents, wanted to bomb the stock market to “reboot” the U.S. government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuclear weapon going off” and would kill everyone in the building. .

Last month, he had rewired two-way radios to act as a remote trigger for an explosive device and planned to go undercover while planting the explosives, according to court documents.

Yener appeared for his first hearing on Wednesday afternoon and will remain in custody while awaiting the hearing.

He was known to post videos on his YouTube channels about making explosives and fireworks from household items and had a history of making threats, according to court documents. He was fired from a restaurant in Coconut Creek, Florida, last year after he said his former supervisor threatened to “go to the Parkland shooter here.”

He was also part of a small group that attempted to join the far-right anti-government group” Boogaloo Bois ” And extremist group 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 CourtWatch website.

Calls to Harun Abdul-Malik Yener’s telephone numbers listed in public records went unanswered, and the name of an attorney was not listed in court records.