Plan uncovered to bomb New York Stock Exchange to 'wake people up' by FBI

Harun Abdul-Malik Yener told FBI informants and undercover employees how the New York Stock Exchange was a potential target as it would "wake people up"

A man has been charged after a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange to "wake people up" was thwarted by FBI agents in the US.

Court documents in Miami, Flordia, showed how agents started investigating Harun Abdul-Malik Yener in February after a tip off suggested he was storing schematics to create bombs in a storage unit. A search of the premises found sketches, as well as watches with timers, circuit boards and electronics which could create explosive devices.

Searches of his internet history found he had looked up how to make bombs since 2017. After meeting an FBI undercover agent playing the role of a militia member, Yener said New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was his target with November 18 the potential date for a detonation.

The court documents read: "His stated motivation for bombing the NYSE was to attain a “reboot” and/or “reset” of the United States government. In October and November 2024, in a law enforcement-controlled secure location he believed to be controlled by the militia, Yener re-wired two-way radios to function as a remote trigger for the explosive device.

"Yener tasked FBI undercover employees with procuring the explosive element for the device, conducting surveillance of the NYSE, and obtaining photos of the building to identify the precise location for detonating the explosive device. Yener planned on wearing a disguise when planting it."

Yener claimed in 2015 ISIS members reached out to him in an attempt to recruit him and fight overseas, but he turned them down as he did not think they would be successful. His former employers at a restaurant revealed he was fired when he threatened to bring guns to the business.

The document include a conversation in which he settled on the NYSE over other potential targets including a football game. Yener told agents: " There is one place that would be hellaeasy…the stock exchange, that would be a great hit. Tons of people would support it. They wouldsee it and think dude, this guy makes sense, they are [profanity] robbing us. So that’s perfect.

“That’s why I was talking about somewhere like New York or DC, because I feel like if you hit there, it will throw them off a bit… because most attackers are going to be in the city they attack, like the Boston marathon bomber, the 9/11 attackers, even Timothy McVeigh, yeah Oklahoma City...if you do that, it’s going to make them think, obviously they are somewhere down here."

He was arrested today by the U.S. Attorney’s office of Southern District of Florida, which is prosecuting the case.