Liberal media covers for Sunday's NYC terror attack suspects — then the facts come out
Many news outlets glossed over key details about the attempted bombing in New York City over the weekend, in some instances misleadingly portraying the attack outside Gracie Mansion as a threat to the city's first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani (D), and omitting the motivations and apparent Islamic radicalization of the suspects.
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Mamdani refused to acknowledge the suspects' identities and instead focused his messaging on blaming the initial protest, "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City," which the mayor claimed was "rooted in bigotry and racism."
'What any honest person would call an IED, the New York Times calls "smoking jars of metal and fuses."'
The media initially echoed Mamdani's framing.
The New York Times released an early report titled, "Smoking Jars of Metal and Fuses Thrown at Protest Near Mayor's House," in which the outlet was quick to label the anti-Islamic protesters as "far-right" and led by "the far-right provocateur Jake Lang."
The report detailed how the "turbulent scene" began with Lang's demonstration, noting that one of his fellow protesters sprayed counter-protesters with mace before a counter-protester threw two smoking objects in their direction. The framing of the report suggested that the anti-Islam protesters were the initial aggressors in the confrontation.
The Times described the two suspects accused of bringing the "smoking objects" merely as "counterprotesters," without delving into their potential motivations, political leanings, or signs of radicalization.
No explosions or injuries were reported.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images
Author Hans Mahncke criticized the Times' headline, writing in a post on social media, "What any honest person would call an IED, the New York Times calls 'smoking jars of metal and fuses.'" The headline of the Times' article was later updated to "Homemade Bomb Thrown at Protest Near N.Y.C. Mayor's House, Police Say."
At the same time that early news reports were surfacing, videos posted to social media showed one of the suspects shouting, "Allahu Akbar," while tossing an IED toward anti-Islam protesters.
Even with the release of this and similar videos, the media was slow to report that Islamic radicals potentially carried out the attempted bombing.
The media began covering this angle only after the New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated that the attempted bombing was being investigated as ISIS-inspired terrorism.
The Times later reported that the suspects had viewed ISIS videos online, according to two anonymous officials. The homemade bombs reportedly contained triacetone triperoxide, made from precursor materials that have been linked to ISIS in the past, including in the Paris attacks in 2015.
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
Tisch, who confirmed that the IEDs were real and potentially lethal, released more details about the suspects in a post on X.
"Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on scene yesterday and are in custody in connection with this matter. The NYPD is working on this investigation with our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force," Tisch wrote.
Despite Tisch's announcement, Mamdani held fast to his original position.
During a Monday-morning press conference, Mamdani again criticized "white supremacy" and condemned the anti-Muslim protest. While he denounced violence, he described many of the counter-protesters as "peaceful." He did not mention that the suspects appear to be radicalized Muslims.
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Originally Published at Daily Wire, Daily Signal, or The Blaze
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