Feds Arrest Homeless Man Allegedly Plotting to Bomb the New York Stock Exchange

The FBI arrested and charged a 30-year-old Florida-based homeless man for allegedly plotting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange before Thanksgiving.

Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, of Coral Gables, Fla., was recorded telling an undercover agent that he felt "like Bin Laden,” a reference to Osama bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, according to federal authorities.

The homeless suspect somehow gathered enough resources to arrive in New York from Florida to construct an explosive device to bomb the NYSE on Wall Street, according to an FBI affidavit filed on Nov. 20.

The FBI charged Yener of attempting to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce by means of an explosive.

Federal law enforcement began investigating Yener in February, after receiving a tip from an informant that he was keeping bomb-making supplies inside an unlocked storage unit and that he expressed interest in joining anti-government militia, according to court documents.

Yener had been researching online how to make a bomb since 2017, according to investigators. He allegedly conducted multiple online searches and shared at least ten videos detailing how to construct explosives and fireworks from household items, along with other videos demonstrating how to make triggers associated with traps and explosives.

While executing a search warrant, Federal agents discovered bomb-making sketches, numerous watches with timers, electronic circuit boards, and other electronics belonging to the suspect in their search of the storage facility.

Yaner met with at least three undercover Feds who had access to commercial-grade explosives and asked for help to build a device powerful enough to blow off the doors, so that "anything existing in there will be killed." He asked the agents for photos and materials to help him target the right locations at the stock exchange, which he viewed as a high-profile target whose destruction would gain him public support, according to the FBI affidavit.

The suspect bragged that “This country is due for a revolution," and that he intended to detonate his bomb the week before Thanksgiving, so his actions would spark a “reboot” or “reset” of the U.S. government. "There is one place that would be hella easy… the stock exchange, that would be a great hit. Tons of people would support it. They would see it and think dude, this guy makes sense, they are [profanity] robbing us. So that's perfect," Yener allegedly told the Feds.

"The Stock Exchange, we want to hit that, because it will wake people up," Yener said. "I'd even take a trip up there to like, set it up, New York," he added, and that he "planned on wearing a disguise."

Yener further told the FBI agents that he even considered joining ISIS in 2015, but decided not to because he believed that "ISIS would not ultimately succeed in achieving their objectives."

The complaint said that he made a series of audio recordings to be distributed to NBC News for his planned bombing, outlining the reasons behind his attack.

Yener has been assigned a federal public defender in the Southern District of Florida and will remain detained until his trial.