On March 7, a group of left-wing counterprotesters gathered outside Gracie Mansion in NYC, where a smaller right-wing protest was taking place.
During the confrontation, 18-year-old Emir Balat allegedly threw a homemade explosive device into the crowd while shouting “Allahu akbar,” according to investigators.
Balat and a second suspect, Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested shortly afterward. Law enforcement later determined the pair were sympathizers of the Islamic State.
Videos of the incident began circulating on social media within hours, showing Balat throwing the device and shouting the slogan widely associated with Islamist extremist attacks.
Despite the rapidly spreading footage, several major news organizations initially published headlines that omitted details about the suspect or his alleged ideological motives.
The New York Times’s first headline on the incident read: “Homemade Bomb Thrown at Protest Near N.Y.C. Mayor’s House, Police Say.”
Critics argued that the headline’s wording was so vague that it risked giving the impression the bomb might have come from the right-wing protesters gathered outside the mayor’s residence.
The Washington Post published a similar headline that initially left out the suspect’s identity and background. Likewise, Associated Press first reported the incident with the headline: “Police investigating after device thrown at anti-Islam protest in New York City.”
In fact, most left-wing media outlets seemed to suggest that a crazed right-winger had thrown a bomb at Zohran Mamdani’s residence. Check out these headlines:
AP: Police investigating after device thrown at anti-Islam protest in New York City
ABC: 6 arrested after ‘suspicious device’ thrown during protest outside NYC mayor’s home
CBS: Smoke devices launched near Gracie Mansion during protest, NYC police sources say
NBC: Two people in custody after ‘suspicious devices’ found outside Zohran Mamdani’s official residence
CNN: 2 arrested after ignited device was thrown amid tensions between counter protest groups outside NYC mayor’s mansion
MS NOW: NYPD arrests six after improvised explosive device thrown near Mayor Mamdani’s home
NEW YORK TIMES: Homemade Bomb Thrown at Protest Near N.Y.C. Mayor’s House, Police Say
WASHINGTON POST: Police investigating after device thrown at anti-Islam protest in New York City
More over at MRC:
🚨 The leftist media are hiding the truth about the NYC terror attacks with no mentions that the bombers were Muslim and yelled “Allahu Akbar” when throwing the bomb. https://t.co/SFy0tKVomP
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) March 16, 2026
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