Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement on the arrest of a South Florida man for allegedly planning a bombing attack on New York City the week before Thanksgiving:
“An attack on New York City during the holiday season would have been catastrophic. I am grateful to the FBI and local law enforcement for taking quick and decisive action and will continue working closely with the FBI and other intelligence agencies in my role on the Senate Intelligence Committee to keep New Yorkers safe.”
According to the Department of Justice, during interactions with an undercover FBI agent, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, 30, of Coral Springs, Florida stated he wanted to target an NYC business the week before Thanksgiving in order to “reboot” and/or “reset” the United States government. Yener anticipated the impact of the explosion would be “like a small nuke went off.”