New York man charged over explosives on subway tracks, rooftops
Michael Gann, 55, allegedly manufactured at least seven explosive devices using chemicals ordered online and stored five devices and shotgun shells on apartment building rooftops in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Authorities said Gann threw one IED onto subway tracks on the Williamsburg Bridge and was arrested with a seventh device on his person early June.
'As alleged, Michael Gann built explosive devices, stored them on a rooftop in SoHo, and threw one onto the subway tracks -- putting countless lives at risk,' said US Attorney Jay Clayton.
'Thanks to swift work by our law enforcement partners, no one was harmed.'
According to prosecutors, Gann ordered approximately two pounds of potassium perchlorate and one pound of aluminum powder -- precursor chemicals to explosives -- online in May, along with over 200 cardboard tubes and 50 feet of fuses.
One of the devices placed on the roof of a SoHo building 'contained approximately 30 grams of explosive powder -- approximately 600 times the legal limit for consumer fireworks,' the attorney's office said.
On or about June 5, just hours before his arrest while carrying an IED, he posted to Instagram: 'Who wants me to go out to play like no tomorrow?'
Before making the IEDs, prosecutors said, Gann posted a message on X on March 27 tagging the POTUS account, the official handle for the president of the United States.
He wrote: 'I'm thinking just now here in NYC that it's too bad that the wall wasn't built before the National Guard would have to come here for the Protests and Riotation or would you just drop a bomb on this place while and because they seem to be coming and coming?'
Between May and June 2025, Gann also searched online for information on bomb-making, firearms, and 3D-printed guns, as well as background checks for firearm purchases, according to the indictment.
Gann, a resident of New York City's Inwood neighborhood, faces charges of attempted destruction of property by explosives, transportation of explosive materials and unlawful possession of destructive devices.
The most serious charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and maximum of 20 years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
18 minutes ago
- Arab News
French PM slams EU-US trade deal as ‘submission'
PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday slammed a weekend trade deal between the United States and the European Union as a 'dark day' and tantamount to 'submission,' as other politicians poured vitriol on the deal.'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resorts to submission,' said Bayrou in a post on X of the accord thrashed out President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck the deal, which fixed a baseline tariff of 15 percent on EU exports to the President Emmanuel Macron did not immediately react Monday to the high-stakes agreement, which drew wider criticism across much of the French political spectrumStock markets rose in Europe and Asia on hopes the agreement can avert a potentially damaging trade many French politicians were not convinced.'Ursula von der Leyen accepted yesterday the commercial surrender of Europe, to the detriment of our exporters, farmers, and industrialists,' Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally, wrote on day before, Bardella's party colleague and three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen had criticized the deal as 'a political, economic and moral fiasco.''This is a defeat for the European Commission, which failed to create the power dynamics needed properly to defend European interests,' said Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, a Macron ally in parliament and president of the National Assembly's European Affairs blasted what he said was a 'signal of weakness' sent 'to our competitors (and) we must fight to reverse the situation.'A Bayrou ally in his Democratic Movement, lawmaker Philippe Latombe, said on X he 'deeply regrets' a deal which 'while it certainly avoids a trade war, comes at the cost of culpable subservience, a mortgage on our future, and the sacrifice of entire sectors of our sovereignty. It's a bad deal, except for Trump.'On Sunday, the Socialist Party said the EU appeared cast as a US 'vassal' while far-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said France's choice was one of 'non-submission to the (US) Empire and non-alignment.'The French finance ministry told AFP Finance Minister Eric Lombard and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would Wednesday discuss 'consequences' of the deal with major French economic players.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Indian army kills three suspected rebels in contested Kashmir
Indian security forces killed three suspected armed rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday during a clash in a wildlife reserve, the army said. The incident occurred in the mountains of Dachigam, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the disputed region's main city of Srinagar. 'Three terrorists have been neutralized in an intense firefight,' the Indian army said in a statement on social media. 'Operation continues,' it added. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbors -- which both claim the region in full -- have fought two wars over its control. The incident took place near the major Hindu shrine of Amarnath, to which more than 350,000 people from across India have travelled as part of an ongoing pilgrimage. The army did not immediately identify those killed, but a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity that they were all 'foreigners.' Rebel groups have waged an insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, demanding Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan. The clash comes more than three months after gunmen attacked tourists in Pahalgam, a popular resort town in the restive territory, killing 26 people, mostly Hindus. Security forces have been hunting for the attackers but they remain at large. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied, sparking an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides. Clashes between rebels and government forces have drastically reduced during the last five years but many local militants have been killed since the Pahalgam attack.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Pakistani security forces kill three militants linked to 2024 attack on Chinese in Karachi
Pakistani security forces in an overnight raid killed three suspected militants accused of orchestrating last year's attack in which two Chinese nationals working in a textile mill in the southern port city of Karachi were wounded, officials said on Monday. Azad Khan, a senior official with the Counter-Terrorism Department, said the dead insurgents included the alleged mastermind of the November 2024 attack. He identified that person only as Zafran and said he was from the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. China has repeatedly pressed Pakistan to improve security for its nationals working on major infrastructure projects under Beijing's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which include roads, railways and power plants. Chinese nationals have increasingly come under attack by militant groups, including TTP and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army — banned by the Pakistani authorities and also designated as terrorist groups by the United States. Pakistan has pledged to bolster security measures for Chinese workers, including those employed at private factories. Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed the previous day in Tirah Valley, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Fiaz Khan, a local government official, said. He said the violence erupted when hundreds of residents gathered outside a military camp to demand protection and justice after a child was killed in a mortar attack on the weekend. The crowd came under gunfire from 'unknown gunmen,' Khan said. He said the demonstrators accused security forces of opening fire when some people were throwing stones at the military camp, but police had yet to determine whose bullets caused the deaths. Khan said gunfire was also reported from nearby hills, and police suspect TTP may have been behind the shooting to sow discord between residents and the military. The government has ordered a probe into the killings of demonstrators, he said.
