Jake Lang, a MAGA supporter whose anti-Muslim rally was the target of what authorities say was an ISIS-inspired terror attack in New York City, believes he was spared from harm by God.
Mr. Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant, was showcasing a roasted pig — an animal considered unclean to Islam — at Saturday’s rally outside Mayor Zorhan Mamdani’s home when two homemade bombs were tossed at him and his small group of demonstrators.
Mr. Lang, in an interview with The Washington Times, vowed not to let the attack intimidate him.
“These people, they were radical Islamic terrorists,” Mr. Lang said. “They were ISIS wannabes, but this is your everyday average Islamic supporter and follower, who wants to see Americans dead in the streets of New York City.”
He added, “The work we are doing in our streets is so important. If you are not free to say what you want to say about Jesus Christ being Lord, and America being a Christian country in New York City without threat of being bombed, where are you free? America, it is time to stand up before your freedoms are evaporated before your eyes.”
Federal authorities on Monday charged two Pennsylvanians, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, with the attack. In court documents, authorities said the two said they were motivated by the Islamic State terror group, or ISIS.
Mr. Balat told New York police officers that “this isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet,” according to the court papers. He also said: “If I didn’t do it, someone else will come and do it.”
Mr. Balat also said he’d hoped to kill more people than in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, authorities said.
According to reports, the two suspects have parents who came from Afghanistan and Turkey.
“These people cannot assimilate. They will not assimilate,” Mr. Lang told The Times on Monday after the charges were made public. “The police need to do a better job screening these anchor babies.”
• Matt Delaney contributed to this report.
