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‘Smoking Jars Of Metal’: Media Obfuscate Alleged NYC Bomb Attempt And Its Islamist Motives

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A Muslim man allegedly threw homemade bombs into a crowd of protesters on Saturday in New York City. But you wouldn’t necessarily glean that from the dishonest coverage provided by the propaganda press.

Protesters gathered near Gracie Mansion — the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — as part of Jake Lang’s “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration. A counterprotest formed nearby, and at some point a scuffle reportedly broke out between the two groups. According to authorities, however, 18-year-old Emir Balat threw a homemade explosive device into the crowd of protesters and tried to flee. Nineteen-year-old Ibrahim Nikk Kayumi is alleged to have provided Balat with one of the bombs, according to The New York Times.

One of the bombs was, as described by the Times, “made from a jug that contained a sports drink bottle filled with explosive material, as well as bolts and screws and a ‘hobby fuse,’ according to a senior law enforcement official.”

NBC News’ Tom Winter reported that authorities are treating the event as a “possible act of terrorism” after one of the alleged perpetrators “directly referenced ISIS in statements to law enforcement.”

Video footage also appears to show Balat shouting “Allahu Akbar” before throwing the bomb.

Both suspects have since been charged with five counts, including use of a weapon of mass destruction and transportation of explosive materials, as well as attempted support of a designated foreign terrorist organization, CBS News reported.

The reported facts are apparently pretty straightforward: A Muslim man allegedly threw a homemade explosive device packed with projectiles into a crowd of people, and investigators are examining potential jihad motives.

But if you only glanced at headlines or scrolled past social media posts from major news outlets, you likely would come away with a very different understanding of what happened.

Take, for example, the coverage from City and State New York, which originally headlined its piece: “Islamophobic demonstration outside Gracie Mansion leads to 6 arrests.”

The article’s original opening paragraph reported that six people were arrested “in connection with the violent protests outside Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side Saturday after a far-right group organized a ‘Crusade Against Islamification’” and also mentioned a counterprotest. The outlet has since updated the headline and article to indicate: “Gracie Mansion protest attempted bombing investigated ‘as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.’”

Gothamist headlined its piece: “6 people arrested after smoke device thrown at anti-Muslim protest near Gracie Mansion.”

The Associated Press took a similarly vague angle, headlining a piece about the alleged attack “Police investigating after device thrown at anti-Islam protest in New York City.”

The New York Times originally chose the headline “Smoking Jars of Metal and Fuses Thrown at Protest Near Mayor’s House” before changing it to “Homemade Bomb Thrown at Protest Near N.Y.C. Mayor’s House, Police Say.”

NBC New York dishonestly posted on X: “Multiple arrests made after ‘suspicious devices’ found outside Gracie Mansion, home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, during anti-Islam rally and counterprotest.”

ABC News posted: “Police arrested several people after a smoke-generating ‘suspicious device’ was thrown during a protest at Gracie Mansion,” while CBS News stated: “Suspicious devices ignited during protests near Manhattan’s Gracie Mansion, Mamdani’s official residence.”

Judging by these headlines, the defining point of the Saturday protest was that it was “Islamophobic” or “anti-Islam.” Such dishonest framing obscures the dangerous reality: A Muslim man with reported terrorist-organization sympathies allegedly tried to blow up a crowd of protesters. But for the propaganda press, acknowledging that fact would destroy their narrative about who the villains and victims are supposed to be.

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