Who is Malik Sanchez? Teen 'incel' who threatened two women with bomb hoax at Manhattan restaurant arrested
A self-identified teen 'incel' was charged by federal authorities on Wednesday for allegedly threatening to detonate a bomb while yelling “Allahu Akbar” at two women eating at a New York restaurant. According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Malik Sanchez, 19, who uses the pseudonym “Smooth Sanchez” online, was arrested on Wednesday for the threat he allegedly carried out while live-streaming on YouTube on February 13, 2021.
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F Sweeney Jr, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the NYPD, announced the unsealing of the criminal complaint charging him for carrying out the hoax bomb threat at the restaurant in Manhattan.
Sanchez was arrested on April 14 and he was to be presented in front of US Magistrate Judge Ona T Wang.
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Who is Malik Sanchez?
During the YouTube stream, Sanchez allegedly walked up to the two women eating at the outdoor-seating area of the Flatiron District restaurant and said he was going to, “Enhance their meal.” “Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Bomb detonation in two, in two minutes. I take you with me and I kill all you. I kill all you right now. And I kill all you for Allah,” Sanchez ranted at the women, according to court docs.
“I’m gonna f**king do it for Allah,” he added.
This wasn't the first time he has been arrested for his YouTube stunt. In the charging document, an FBI agent said he reviewed a number of videos in which the 19-year-old is seen accosting other women on Manhattan streets, including one in which he praises Elliot Rodger, a self-proclaimed incel who killed several people in California in 2014.
Strauss said, "As alleged, Malik Sanchez perpetrated a hoax bomb threat at a Manhattan restaurant that frightened innocent victims, sowed chaos, and diverted precious law enforcement resources. Today’s arrest makes clear that such conduct will not be tolerated.”
FBI Assistant Director Sweeney Jr on the other hand added, "Whether real or perceived, a threat of violence is a serious action with real-life consequences. In this case, Sanchez’s alleged behavior carries the potential for a federal prison sentence. Anyone who intends to carry out a similar hoax should know that the FBI’s JTTF is ready and willing to respond."
NYPD Commissioner Shea also commented regarding the complaint and said, "Malik Sanchez’s alleged hoax bomb threat, as detailed in today’s federal complaint, disrupted not only the safety and well-being of several innocent restaurant patrons but the fabric of society. Our NYPD detectives, with our partners in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, have zero tolerance for actions like these."
The statement said that Sanchez self-identifies as 'Involuntary Celibate' or 'incel', which happens to be an online group. This group, mainly men, believes that society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention to which they are entitled. Sanchez is charged with one count of conveying false and misleading information and hoaxes which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.