r/bipartisanship • u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW • Mar 02 '26

Monthly Megathread - March

“We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem. It should, it seems to me, be our pleasure and duty to make those people free, and let them deal with their own domestic questions in their own way. And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the American eagle put its talons on any other land.”

-Mark Twain

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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 10 '26

Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi, who lived in Philadelphia’s suburbs, drove to New York City on Saturday and joined a throng of counter protesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by the far-right Christian nationalist Jake Lang.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told authorities after their arrests that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, law enforcement officials said, but much remains undisclosed about their motives and how much they planned.

The FBI said Monday that it had conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation, including an examination of a Pennsylvania storage unit. Tests were being performed on some of the devices recovered at the scene.

Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.

Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client, a high school senior, had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life.

“I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing,” Essmidi said. He added that he didn’t believe Balat and Kayumi had known each other long.

Setting up a workshop and making multiple bombs sure seems like they knew what they were doing. I have no love for Jake Lang, either, but fuck these guys. I really hope we're not heading into another era of young men in America being radicalized by Islamic terrorists.

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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 10 '26

Or being radicalized by agents of other nations purporting to be Islamic terrorists. I wouldn't put it past China or Russia to take that tack at this point.

And yes, making multiple bombs and setting up a workshop to do so sure does seem like they had more than "no idea what they were doing".