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TSA Shortages Lead to Long Lines at Airports, Two Men Charged With Using WMD, Supporting a Terror Group After Homemade Bombs Tossed Near NYC Mayor's Home. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: -- early that Southwest would typically not even accept a bag if you were dropping one off to be checked, but Southwest tells us it's now making special exemptions for travelers to do that and the airlines also put into place a travel waiver, meaning those flying through Hobby can change their plans for free.

Remember though that TSA agents are considered essential personnel during this shutdown, meaning they're currently reporting to work without getting any pay. So when a handful of agents don't report to work, that can have an outsized impact. And Houston's airport director puts it like this, strong travel demand plus fewer TSA agents means the lines are growing out of control.

One more video. This was the line yesterday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Some of the lines stretched all the way out of the terminal and into a parking garage. Passengers flying out of New Orleans are being told now to arrive three hours before their flight. So a little better than Houston.

Just some context here. TSA lines have historically been a major political pressure point. It was TSA agents not reporting to work that helped end the 35-day government shutdown in 2018 into 2019. We also saw sick calls spike during the shutdown of late last year. And now, we're approaching the start of spring break, millions of Americans expected to fly. So we will see now whether all of these images coming out will put on some political pressure and get members of Congress back to the table to hammer out a deal here.

So much blame going around. But clearly, passengers and travelers are caught in the middle of all of it.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We'll see if lawmakers wind up in a line out to the parking garage at DCA. That might change things. Pete Muntean --

(LAUGH)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": That's the straw.

MUNTEAN: Typically, DCA is also one of the places where lines are very, very quick --

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

MUNTEAN: -- because members of Congress fly through there.

SANCHEZ: Pete Muntean, thanks so much for the reporting. Appreciate it.

(LAUGH)

SANCHEZ: A new hour of CNN News Central starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

SANCHEZ: And we begin this hour with Breaking News. A press conference about to get underway in New York City and we are expecting to learn more details about protests on Saturday near Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home.

KEILAR: Two homemade bombs were tossed during those protests, and now, two men are facing charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. We're going to -- actually, this is beginning. Let's listen in.

JESSICA TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: -- greatest police department in the world. Earlier today, I provided an update on the investigation into explosive devices that were ignited and deployed on Saturday during protests outside of Gracie Mansion. We can now share that federal charges have been filed in the Southern District of New York against two individuals, Amir Balat and Ibrahim Qayyumi, in connection with that attack.

The defendants are charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, using a weapon of mass destruction, transporting explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosive materials, and unlawful possession of destructive devices. The complaint sets forth the factual allegations supporting those charges. As alleged in the complaint, the defendants were inspired by ISIS to carry out their attack.

There should be no confusion about what ISIS constitutes. It is a designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for deadly terrorist attacks across the globe and has taken credit for mass casualty attacks in Europe, the Middle East, and right here in the United States. And as alleged, both defendants have admitted that they acted on Saturday because of ISIS.

As Qayyumi was being placed into an NYPD vehicle following his arrest, a person in the crowd asked why he had done this. As shown on NYPD body-worn camera footage referenced in the complaint, Qayyumi responded with 'ISIS.' And at the precinct, after being advised of his Miranda rights and waiving those rights, Qayyumi said in recorded post-arrest statements that he had watched ISIS propaganda on his phone and that his actions that day were partly inspired by ISIS.

The complaint also details statements made by Amir Balat after his arrest. En route to the NYPD precinct, Balat made spontaneous statements without being questioned by NYPD officers that were captured on body-worn camera footage. He said, this isn't a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet. We take action. We take action. As well as, if I didn't do it, someone else will come and do it.

And later, after waiving his rights, he requested paper and wrote a message declaring, in part, I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage, you kuffar. Now, 'die in your rage' is a commonly known ISIS slogan, and kuffar is an Arabic term that refers to non-believers.

He also told investigators that he had hoped to carry out an attack even bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing, which he noted resulted in only three deaths.

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These statements, as set forth in the complaint, make clear that this was not random violence. This was a planned attack motivated by extremist ideology and inspired by a violent foreign terrorist organization. The complaint alleges not only why the defendants acted, but how. Preliminary testing has determined that one of the devices contained triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, also commonly referred to as Mother of Satan, a highly volatile explosive that has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade.

As we have previously discussed, the NYPD identified a vehicle yesterday on East End Avenue that was linked to the defendants. Inside that vehicle, investigators recovered handwritten notes referencing TATP explosive and listing chemical ingredients for the type of explosive device used by the defendants on Saturday. Make no mistake, what happened this weekend was incredibly dangerous and the ongoing investigation will be exhaustive.

From the first moments of that investigation, the NYPD has been working seamlessly with our federal partners, many of whom have joined us here. In particular, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes NYPD detectives, working alongside federal agents. They have been at the center of this investigation. Members of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including NYPD Task Force officers, have executed search warrants at Qayyumi and Balat's residences in Pennsylvania.

Another important note, the two defendants arrived in New York City roughly one hour before they were arrested. According to our investigation, they crossed the George Washington Bridge with a license plate reader ping at 11:36 a.m. on Saturday, parked in front of 48 East End Avenue between 81st and 82nd Streets at 12:05 p.m., and walked to the protest. They ignited and threw the devices at approximately 12:15 p.m. and were immediately arrested thereafter.

I want to thank our great United States Attorney, Jay Clayton, for his extraordinary partnership, as well as the prosecutors from SDNY for everything that they do, especially for their work on this investigation and their forthcoming prosecution. I also want to thank the FBI, especially James Barnacle, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office, and Rob Kissane, the FBI's Special Agent in Charge for Counterterrorism, as well as the Joint Terrorism Task Force. We are grateful always for the FBI agents and Assistant U.S. Attorneys who have been working around the clock with us since Saturday.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to recognize the members of the NYPD who responded on Saturday and in the hours that followed. The officers assigned to that protest who ran toward a lit, improvised explosive device, the bomb squad technicians who secured and analyzed the devices, the detectives and analysts who worked through the night to develop this investigation, and the countless members of service who helped ensure the security of the people of New York City during a very tense and dangerous situation.

The NYPD remains on heightened alert, and our mission is simple and that is to keep New Yorkers safe. That responsibility belongs to the nearly 35,000 members of this department who stand watch over this city and who are prepared to respond whenever and wherever danger appears. On Saturday, we saw that commitment in action. Thank you.

Now, I will turn it over to our United States Attorney, Jay Clayton.

JAY CLAYTON, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Thank you, Commissioner Tisch. I'm very proud to be here today with Commissioner Tisch and Director Barnacle, representing this joint effort to keep our city safe. And I'm going to pick up where the Commissioner left off.

I watched the video of New York Police Department officers running to the danger, knowing that these might be explosive devices, knowing that they might explode. That is the kind of commitment that makes this city great. Thank you. Thank all your officers. It's tremendous. It makes me so proud as a New Yorker.

As Commissioner Tisch noted, we charged two individuals today, Balat and Qayyumi. They are charged federally with five counts: Attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Use of a weapon of mass destruction.

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Transportation of explosive materials. Interstate transportation and receipt of explosives. And unlawful possession of destructive devices. justice.

The facts alleged in the complaint are just that, allegations. In our great system of justice, they must be proven. And the defendants have the presumption of innocence. Commissioner Tisch did an exceptional job outlining the facts alleged in the complaint.

These were ISIS-inspired actions. And it is chilling that they wanted to do something more than the Boston Marathon, more than three deaths. Free speech and peaceable assembly are the bedrock of American democracy. But violence is not protected. And it's not protected protest. It's not protected speech. In New York, violence, particularly violence that has a terrorist bent, violence that is meant to chill free speech, violence that is meant to keep us from assembling peaceably, will be met with swift justice.

This investigation remains ongoing, and we encourage anyone with further information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

In closing, I want to express my deep gratitude for, again, the NYPD and all of those folks in my office, who immediately answered the call and worked around the clock. In particular, the heads of our National Security and International Narcotics Unit, Elinor Tarlow and Jason Richman, and our line U.S. attorneys, who I don't think have slept, which is why we are here so quickly, Jonathan Bodansky and Jane Chong. Thank you all very much.

I'll now turn it over to Director Barnacle.

JAMES BARNACLE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, FBI NEW YORK: Thank you, U.S. Attorney, Clayton. My name is James Barnacle. I'm the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office.

Today, alongside our partners in New York City Police Department and the Southern District of New York, our office has announced federal terrorism charges against Amir Balat and Ibrahim Qayyumi. On Saturday, March 7th, these two individuals allegedly threw one suspicious device and attempted to throw another during a protest outside Gracie Mansion. As the Commissioner noted, if it weren't for the bravery of two New York's finest, we could have had a much more tragic incident.

Yesterday, on Sunday, March 8th, a third device was recovered from a vehicle on East End Avenue. Upon careful analysis by NYPD bomb techs and FBI special agent bomb technicians, it was determined that these items were improvised explosive devices, IEDs, designed to inflict serious injury and death to those in the vicinity of the intended blast zone. Both subjects have stated they were inspired by ISIS, a designated terrorist organization, to conduct this attack.

Balat and Qayyumi sought to incite fear and mass suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack in the backyard of an elected city official. This weekend was just another example of the elevated threat environment we're currently living in. Let me be clear, the FBI will not tolerate those who use violence against targets in New York City to broadcast their terroristic ideologies.

This would not have been possible. The outcome we're talking about today would not have been possible without the FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by Special Agent-in-Charge, Rob Kissane, our special agent bomb technicians, as well as our partners at the NYPD and the Southern District of New York. I would like to thank Commissioner Jessica Tisch for your department's unwavering partnership, and especially for the bravery of your officers who ran towards danger to protect this city and our residents.

Thank you, U.S. Attorney Clayton, for your team's determination to bring weighty criminal charges against these defendants and hold them accountable for the reprehensible actions from this past weekend. Additionally, I'd like to extend my appreciation to the Customs and Border Protection, the Port Authority Police Department, the New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the FBI divisions in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Those offices assisted us throughout the weekend.

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The collective efforts across all these agencies, including those who could not join us today, thwarted a potentially devastating day in this city. Rest assured, the FBI and the New York City Police Department remain at the ready to defend the homeland against anyone seeking to harm our community.

We're continuing to chase down all leads and tips in this ongoing investigation. As U.S. Attorney mentioned, anyone that has tips out there, we encourage you to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or you can submit your tips online at fbi.gov. Thank you.

Turn it over to Commissioner for any questions.

TISCH: All right, so we will now take any questions you have on topic only, please. We will do our best to answer, but as I mentioned at the earlier press conference today, we may be limited in some of the things we can say because we don't want to say anything that will in any way make these fine prosecutors' work more difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Commissioner. Again, we do on-topic questions. We'll go to Gloria (ph)] first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much. I hear what you said about what the individuals stated regarding ISIS, but do you have any information yet about whether they were self-radicalized or actually recruited by ISIS? And is there anything you can say about whether they were targeting anything or any person specifically? The mayor said earlier today that it was known this protest was going to take place for about a week. So, did they come here specifically to target that group or were they targeting the mayor, any other group?

TISCH: So we're not going to be able to answer the first question at this time for the reasons I stated earlier. It is clear that they showed up in front of Gracie Mansion for their planned counter-protest in response to the original protest that was planned by a Jake Lang- affiliated group.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: State your name and (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blair (ph), Bloomberg News. Both of these suspects have extensive Middle East travel histories, which may be inconsequential. They both are Middle Eastern. How are you squaring that with this attack? And then secondly, can you just talk about the nature? These are two young men, not even 21, and the nature of radicalization reaching young people.

TISCH: So on the first part of your question, we're not able to answer that at this time, although, of course, as part of our investigation, we are aware of international travel. And I'm going to ask Rebecca Weiner, our Deputy Commissioner of Intel and Counterterrorism, to talk about radicalization of youth. Thank you.

REBECCA WEINER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INTEL AND COUNTERTERROR, NYPD: Thank you. And this is very much in keeping with a trend that we are seeing among ISIS-inspired adherents, both in the country, as well as throughout the West. Younger and younger individuals who are radicalizing and mobilizing to violence. And this is taking place against the backdrop of social media, the dynamics of online culture. It's not limited to ISIS. It's across the ideological spectrum. Younger people mobilizing to violence, something we're tracking very closely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please state your name.

JERICKA DUNCAN, CBS NEWS: Jericka Duncan, CBS News. Had any of these two individuals been arrested before? Do they have any type of record? And how much time are they facing? And if I could get a quick, a third question in, can you describe how destructive those devices could have been, how many people could have been impacted if they were successful?

TISCH: So I believe that the two individuals in question do not have criminal histories or criminal backgrounds. And Rebecca, if you could explain more about that IED and TATP specifically and what it was capable of.

WEINER: As the Commissioner mentioned, TATP is highly dangerous and extremely volatile. And the NYPD and FBI bomb squads and bomb technicians did do controlled detonations of the two IEDs from the protest, which revealed a significant explosion. It's really important to note that had these IEDs functioned the way the perpetrators allegedly wanted them to, they could have caused death, destruction, extremely dangerous compound, and extremely dangerous place deployed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Commissioner Tisch and I think, also for Commissioner Weiner, what was the assessment of this event in the days leading up to it in terms of your concerns, A and B? What role did SRG play? Were they there in a primary capacity or in a backup capacity?

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WEINER: So we had been planning for this protest for several days. Whenever there is both a protest and a counter protest, that's something that the NYPD plans for very deliberately to avoid confrontations and for all of the other reasons you might expect. So, this was no different and there had been very thoughtful preparation for this event due to the combined protest, counter protest and the location.

TISCH: And I can just answer the question about SRG. SRG was in the area of the protest. They were there in a backup capacity. We often have SRG around in an area if we think that it has a potential to get heated. So they were there. They were brought in after mayhem, as soon as mayhem ensued.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you make that assessment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) We've got to cancel (inaudible). Apologies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just a quick follow-up. How do you make that assessment?

TISCH: Our commanders on the ground will make the assessment about when to call in SRG. But certainly, with this protest, we did have SRG on standby and prepared because we thought it had the ability to get interesting, given who was there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

JOE MARINO, NEW YORK POST: Joe Marino, New York Post. Commissioner, are you looking at changing your posture towards policing protests, given the fact these two individuals were not known to you? And is it causing you to reassess additional resources you may need from an intelligence or patrol standpoint?

TISCH: So, as you know, the NYPD remains on heightened alert. We really have been on heightened alert since the hostilities in Iran broke out about one week ago, which means extra counterterrorism deployments, heavy weapons teams, drones, aviation. This department, in particular, our intelligence and counterterrorism unit and teams have been out there in full force for the past week, as they are any time something happens, either in the city or around the world, that we feel we need to deploy for.

Look, this incident did occur at a protest, but it didn't have to have occurred at a protest. So, this doesn't change our posture specifically on protests. The NYPD has been policing protests and ensuring New Yorkers' ability to exercise their First Amendment rights safely and lawfully for decades, but never more so, frankly, than over the past two-and-a-half years, where we have just seen a huge increase in the number of protests. And our officers, both our community affairs officers, our patrol officers, and our SRG officers are well- trained and certainly well-practiced at doing so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Brad (ph). Hey, Commissioner, thank you. Given the threat picture that you've been outlining, how worrying is it that a couple of guys from Bucks County can just drive into Manhattan with potentially viable devices? Is it alarming and is there anything you can do to stop it?

TISCH: Go ahead.

WEINER: Thank you. So when we talk about heightened threat environment and when we talk about lone actor threat, this is another incredibly sobering reminder. We had one just a week ago in Austin, Texas, and that's the reason that we surge our personnel, as the Commissioner just mentioned, we've been doing since the onset of the war overseas in Iran for the last 10 days, to harden targets. Of course, some individuals will mobilize to violence without tripping the wires that we extensively set. And in that point, then it is the bravery of our officers who contend with a threat as it is unfolding on our streets. And in this case, incredibly bravely.

TISCH: And I would just add there's a few pieces to this, right? There is our intelligence and counterterrorism operation. And I have to say, there is no other city in the world that has an intelligence and counterterrorism capacity quite like the NYPD's. But then, as Deputy Commissioner said, we also have our well-trained officers on the ground doing deployments to catch anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We'll have one more question (inaudible).

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ANTHONY DISTEFANO, NEWSDAY: Tony DiStefano, Newsday. I guess this is for Commissioner Weiner. The two devices, were they both assayed as being TATP?

TISCH: I can do that.

DISTEFANO: And Assistant Director talked of the third device being an improvised explosive. Was that also known quantity of TATP or something else?

TISCH: So the -- let's talk about the first two devices first. They were both brought on Saturday to Rodman's Neck where our bomb technicians and FBI experts looked at them jointly. We assessed quite comprehensively one of the devices and we determined that that device contained TATP. We didn't do the same type of thorough investigation of the second device, but instead decided to neutralize the two devices and take samples from both devices and send them over to an FBI lab where further testing, including for the existence of TATP in the second device, will be done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, everyone.

KEILAR: All right. We have been listening to this press conference from officials there in New York City after they have arrested two young men on multiple charges for throwing these IEDs inspired by ISIS. And we see here on video one -- or both of them, Amir Balat and Ibrahim Qayyumi, both of them now in custody. And as we understand it, we're hearing from officials there, they say both of them are actually on video, one of them after being Mirandized, one of them on police bodycam.

And then, once he'd been brought to the police station, on tape, essentially admitting responsibility for what they did and talking about it being ISIS related. That's what we're hearing from officials.

SANCHEZ: And Qayyumi, or rather Balat, in a written statement saying that he wanted to carry out a bigger attack than the Boston Marathon bombing, noting that that attack killed three. He seemed to be aspiring to do more harm and officials today indicating that these were not hoaxes. These were not fake weapons. They were actual IEDs. They contained TATP and officials were able to detonate them in isolation and they both had significant capacity to cause harm and to potentially kill.

Let's bring in CNN's Josh Campbell, who worked at the FBI and has investigated similar cases in the past.

Josh, what do you make of what you heard from officials there in New York?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, at first, it doesn't appear that there was a great deal of sophistication here because, thankfully, the devices obviously did not detonate.

We know that sadly with the availability of the Internet and manuals that are online, the terrorists have taken advantage of creating even rudimentary type devices that they learn about, simply using open source material. But again, obviously thankful that this did not detonate. It's also interesting that it doesn't appear that these people were on the radar of officials.

We just heard from the Deputy Commissioner there from the NYPD who said that there's this whole tripwire process that is in place where you have the FBI, the NYPD, they're constantly working to monitor potential threats using both electronic means as well as human sources. And because those wires were not tripped, there was this question about, well, what was the footprint of these individuals? Had they been in the past in contact with any known or suspected terrorists?

There's always a big question and a concern for officials when they describe the so-called lone wolf. This is someone who might be inspired by a terrorist organization and then goes to act that maybe isn't necessarily directed, given actual instructions. That can be hard to detect here. This is obviously unique because we're talking about two individuals that were responsible for conducting this alleged attempted terrorist attack there in New York.

And so a lot of big questions right now, a lot of work still going on behind the scenes. We know that an incident like this, just because there's been an arrest, there will be a prosecution, that doesn't mean the investigation is over. Authorities are still working backwards.

The U.S. intelligence community, for example, has a massive database of known or suspected terrorists that often suspects will run through just to try to determine what their associations might be. So all of that's still going on behind the scenes right now. Obviously, everyone grateful that this did not end in violence, but you just hear about the makeup of these devices using this material called TATP, this highly vulnerable explosive that can cause mass damage.

You can just imagine how terrible this could have been if that device was more sophisticated.

KEILAR: Yeah. As they said, they wanted to do something bigger than the Boston bombing marathon. One of them expressed, according to police there, and as one suspect put it, it resulted only in three deaths, that word 'only' --