Compromised News Network blasted over 'bizarre' post about teens charged with throwing bombs at NYC protest

CNN deleted a post about an ISIS-inspired attack in New York and admitted it didn't meet their standards. Classic mainstream media malpractice, especially when they get caught misrepresenting the truth.

Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were walked out of the 19th precinct in Manhattan on March 9, 2026, after their arrest for tossing an explosive device while allegedly yelling "Allahu akbar" into a protest crowd outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home where people were protesting "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York," and "Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer."

The fake news network is getting hammered on social media for a now-deleted Tuesday post on X that described the two suspects as "Pennsylvania teenagers" who were charged with hurling bombs at a protest near Gracie Mansion on Saturday. They conveniently left out the part when they yelled and what their motives were. 

The CNN post read: "Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather. But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home. Here's what we know so far."

So it was just a couple of kids out to enjoy a normal day in the Big Apple and maybe show a little concern about a group of Islamophobic protesters who just don't care about allowing the 'Religion of Peace' to do their thing,

These weren't just some kids out to enjoy the day. 

The suspects, 18-year-old Emir Balat of Langhorne and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi of Newtown, came from Bucks County to Manhattan. Police say they ignited and threw improvised explosive devices into the crowd outside the mayor's residence, hoping to kill as many people as possible. Federal prosecutors hit them with charges of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS, and use of a weapon of mass destruction.

CNN yanked the post and issued this explanation on X: "A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted."

They also failed to explain how these sweet teens were inspired by ISIS, the terrorist organization that beheads and burns people alive if they're considered to be infidels.

Even CNN media analyst Brian Stelter called it out in his newsletter Tuesday morning: "The story itself was solid. But the tweet was outrageous, and quickly addressed by CNN management." He added that the outlet was "rightly criticized" for the post.

Social media lit up over the bizarre framing, which somehow avoided words like "terror" or "terrorist" entirely."This is the weirdest framing," Examiner columnist Tim Carney posted on X. "The major left-leaning outlets hate this story, but know they cannot ignore it, so they go to bizarre contortions."

Deputy editor of Jewish News U.K. Daniel Sugarman pointed out that the post would have been "extremely strange" even right after the attack, but "given everything we now know about these [two] people and their motives, is journalistic malpractice."

Gee, CNN being accused of journalistic malpractice--what will they say next?

But CNN wasn't the only outlet. 

ABC News referred to the ISIS-inspired man as an 'activist' who threw a homemade bomb towards police. And Libs of TikTok posted this: 

"Wow. ISIS-inspired perpetrators commit a literal terrorist act, and this is what CNN comes up with?" media watchdog group HonestReporting asked. "Oh, those poor ‘Pennsylvania teenagers,’ whose lives have ‘drastically changed’ because they made the conscious decision to throw bombs. When will the media stop employing narrative storytelling to infantilize perpetrators of ideologically motivated crimes?"

"Who writes this garbage?" Rep. Eli Crane, (R-AZ), wrote on X. "They are radical Islamic terrorists."

Journalist Scot Bertram had some brutal fun rewriting it to mimic 9/11: "Nineteen men arrived at East Coast airports Tuesday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying a cross-country flight. But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change."

RedState writer Bonchie nailed it: CNN was doing "everything they can to make these Islamists [seem] like misguided victims."

"I don’t really understand this framing by CNN," News2Share editor-in-chief Ford Fischer wrote. "Couldn’t anybody who does something life-changing have ‘a normal day’ if they don’t do the thing?"

And Barstool Sports content creator Jack Mac summed up the absurdity: "Man you just gotta hate when two teenagers, who could’ve been enjoying the warm weather, have their life drastically changed because they accidentally brought a home made bomb that would’ve killed multiple people. Oops! I did some terrorism! Can’t believe my life has changed!"This is peak legacy media: soft-pedal radical Islamic terrorism, paint the perps as sympathetic kids whose big day got ruined, then delete and issue a half-hearted mea culpa when the backlash hits. The double standards never stop.

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Comrade Mamdani addresses terror attempt

New York City's shiny new socialist Mayor Zohran "Smiley" Mamdani finally found a moment in his busy schedule to address the little incident outside his official digs. It only took him a full day after protesters were yelling "Allahu Akbar" and chucking a couple of homemade devices into a crowd. Devices that the NYPD bomb squad later confirmed were, surprise, actually lethal.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch dropped the official word on Sunday: "The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death."

So it turns out that this jihadist and his buddy were seriously trying to kill people.

Tisch added that the second one was still getting the full lab treatment with "further analysis" needed.

Then came the gratitude portion of the program: "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. I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects."

Meanwhile, Comrade Mamdani released his own statement, which managed the impressive feat of moral equivalencing the guys who threw bombs at people with the people they were throwing bombs at.

"Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism," Mamdani complained. "Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are."

The leftist mayor kept going: "What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are. I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day. My administration is closely monitoring the situation and I remain in close contact with our Police Commissioner."

Yeah, sure.

For context, there were two dueling protests in front of Gracie Mansion. One was a tiny gathering of less than two dozen folks led by January 6 defendant Jake Lang, billed as "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer." The other side pulled in over 100 people under the banner "Run the Nazis out of New York City, Stand Against Hate." [They forgot to add: Death to Israel; death to America.]

Cops kept them separated, but things still got ugly. Someone from Lang's group hit counter-protesters with pepper spray and got arrested. Then tensions boiled over further when Balat and Kayumi got nabbed for the homemade bombs.

In the grand tradition of progressive mayors who love to lecture about unity while carefully avoiding any mention of who actually tried to blow people up, Mamdani's response was a master class in deflection. The bombs were bad, sure, but let's not forget to lead with the real villain: the guy with the offensive protest sign. Classic gas lighting.

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