One would believe that if someone were to show up to a protest with a makeshift grenade and throw it toward protesters, the mayor of the city where the protest is being held would condemn the act, no matter the protest, situation, or circumstance, because throwing explosives into a crowd is not exactly something we consider socially – or morally – acceptable.
One would think. But in the case of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, his first line of critique was not for the young Islamic extremist men who attempted to stage a terror attack that would kill more than the three murdered during the Boston Marathon bombing, but for those who were the target of the attack.
On March 7, 2026, 18-year-old Emir Balat – a Pennsylvania resident of Turkish origin – along with Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, also from Pennsylvania with parents of Afghan descent, attended a protest outside Gracie Mansion organized by Jake Lang, a January 6 political prisoner, opposing what organizers called the “Islamification” of New York City. Lang was the focus of Mamdani's ire.
Balat ignited and threw a homemade improvised explosive device into the crowd of some 20 people who showed up to protest the Islamification of New York City near the mayor's Gracie Mansion. Protesters ran from the smoke and he bomb extinguished on its own. Kayumi then handed Balat another device, which Balat attempted to ignite and throw as well, but ended up dropping it near the feet of a few police officers on the scene, and the device luckily failed to detonate. Another device was found in the car the young men drove to the scene.
Police quickly tackled and detained both men. Balat and Kayumi waived their Miranda rights and instead started spilling the beans on their inspiration for undertaking the attack. Kayumi said he did what he did because of “ISIS” and the propaganda he watched on his phone. Balat was put in a separate car and, unprovoked, decided to let the police officers know, “This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the Prophet. We take action…If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it,” according to bodycam footage worn by the cops.
One would think that the mayor of New York City would immediately come out and speak against the horrific acts of terrorism from these Muslim extremists. But he didn't. In a civilized world, we wouldn’t be asking for much. However, our first-ever Muslim mayor Mamdani strongly condemned the protesters who oppose Islamic extremism and barely mentioned the attempted bombers.
Mamdani released a statement the day after the attempted attack, saying that “white supremacist Jake Lang” had organized a protest “rooted in bigotry and racism.” He failed to name the terrorists or their affiliation with Islam. The day after that, he said violence of counter-protesters would not be tolerated, but he continued to harp on the protest that was attacked instead of the attackers.
Why? Because the narrative of truth wasn’t getting the job done of messaging against so-called Islamophobia.
Even worse, mainstream news didn’t come to the rescue of the coverage debacle. CNN came right in at the heels of Mamdani with the most absent-minded headline possible, stating that “Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city…”
Yes, that’s real. It’s so real that CNN later issued a retraction, which was rightfully followed by calls to fire the person or people responsible for this preposterous post.
Lang, who organized the protest and did not throw a bomb, was publicly named and politically categorized. The two men accused of attempting a terrorist attack on American soil were reduced to anonymous “individuals” or "counter-protesters."
It’s Mamdani’s pattern. As a Democratic Socialist who’s spent years defending radical Islam while obsessing over “white supremacy” and demonizing anyone who calls out Islamic takeover. Who can forget his campaign trail, promising that he’ll raise rents for white people? Even his Tenant Director shared that “whites” will be most affected by the transition.
So let me state clearly for the record what actually happened on March 7: two Pennsylvania jihadists drove to NYC with homemade bombs to attack Americans who were there warning everyone about exactly that.
And if you think it ends there – think again. More bombs have been discovered in a Pennsylvania storage unit connected to Kayumi and Balat, who both come from well-to-do families.
It’s incredible how the irony is completely lost on Mamdani and his ilk – the more they act like Islamists, the more they prove exactly why these protests exist.
Soad Tabrizi is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a private practice based in Orange County, CA (www.soadtabrizi.com). Soad is also the founder of www.ConservativeCounselors.com.
