It was all captured on video…
An 18-year-old terrorist inspired by ISIS threw an improvised explosive device outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence Saturday, police said.
Emir Balat approached from behind a speaker who was addressing a crowd outside Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, then hurled the device, according to authorities.
The speaker, comedian and actor Walter Masterson, was mid-sentence when the device was thrown over his head.
“I was in the middle of saying ‘as a born and raised New Yorker, we welcome everyone into this city,’ when he threw that over my head,” Masterson wrote on X, where he shared the footage.
I was in the middle of saying “as a born and raised New Yorker, we welcome everyone into this city” when he threw that over my head. pic.twitter.com/i5iD3MVf7h
— Walter Masterson (@waltermasterson) March 8, 2026
Masterson was among approximately 75 counterdemonstrators gathered to oppose a rally organized by activist Jake Lang, whose event was titled “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.”
According to The New York Post, Balat flashed a sick salute honoring ISIS as he was led in shackles from a police precinct on Monday. He was seen holding up his right index finger — a universal salute for the terror group — and grinning at the press while being led by a cop and an FBI agent.
🚨 Suspected Terrorist Defiantly Flashes ISIS Salute After He’s Busted For Tossing Explosive Device at Anti-Islam Protestors pic.twitter.com/oYupH2K5qI
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) March 9, 2026
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