FBI arrests Florida man who planned bombing of New York Stock Exchange

The FBI arrested a man planning to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, the US Attorney's Office stated on Wednesday.

According to the FBI, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, a Florida resident, was charged with an attempt to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce.

Yener reportedly wanted to bomb the stock exchange to “reboot” or "reset" the US government, according to court documents. 

The FBI began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was storing “bombmaking schematics” in a storage unit. 

Inside the storage unit, they found sketches of bombs, watches with timers, electric circuit boards, and other electronics that could be used to build explosives, according to the FBI.

Yener had also unknowingly been in contact with FBI agents. He told them 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 reportedly told the undercover agents.

"It’ll be like a small nuke went off," Yener had said, according to court documents. “Anything outside…will be wiped out... anything inside would be killed.”

Yener had discussed multiple ways to trigger the explosion with the undercover agents. 

“With a remote, there are multiple ways I can make a remote to trigger a detonator. I’ve used a doorbell. I’d like to use a two-way radio, because then you can detonate it from two miles away," he allegedly said to FBI sources. 

Yener built a remote trigger and planned on wearing a disguise when planting the explosive device outside the NYSE and even recorded a message to be delivered to the press about his reasons for the attack.

Since 2017, Yener had searched online for things related to making bombs, according to the FBI.

Additionally, he had a YouTube channel where he would post videos about making explosives and fireworks from household items and had a history of making threats, ABC News reported. 

Planned attacks 

In early November, the FBI claimed that they stopped a terrorist attack in Houston by a who was indicted for attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

The suspect had reportedly bragged that he would commit  "a 9/11-style" attack if he got the resources.

In October, an Afghan man “motivated by ISIS” was arrested by the FBI in Oklahoma for allegedly plotting an election day "terrorist attack.”