A man suspected of placing a fraudulent bomb that evacuated a mall in Queens, New York on Monday morning is a right-wing conspiracy theorist who was arrested for arson on December 30 and has been under investigation by the NYPD for at least one week .
Police officers say they are looking for the man, Louis Shenker, 22, after New York firefighters discovered a stolen car with wire, cans and electrical wiring in the form of a fraudulent bomb in the trunk of the car. No explosives were found in the vehicle – a Tesla with Nevada license plates parked on a spiral ramp between the garage levels of the Queens Place mall – but the police rescued a husky dog from inside.
The car had pro-movement signage Black Lives Matter, raising questions about whether the signs were placed there in an attempt to discredit the movement, according to three senior law enforcement officials.
Law enforcement officials say the police were already investigating Shenker and arrested him twice for other disturbing maneuvers. On December 30, he was arrested for criminal fraud and two arson charges for allegedly burning a poster posted on a NYPD barricade, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Shenker has repeatedly been involved in a variety of similar stunts, including anti-mask actions, which he documented on Instagram.
Shenker tweeted repeatedly to Nick Fuentes, a prominent figure in the far-right Groyper movement, who tries to turn the racist and homophobic trolling culture of the extremist 4chan forum into action in real life. Your Twitter account has been suspended.
Shenker appeared on the InfoWars online conspiracy webcast in December, where he promoted false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, the coronavirus and a conspiracy to take over the world. He implored that “at least 100,000 people come to New York City” to protest a litany of causes outside the residence of Mayor Bill de Blasio, including the false conspiracy theory that “Donald John Trump is the legitimate winner of this election” .
He also falsely disseminated rumors on the internet about the coronavirus vaccine, including an elaborate plot with the Chinese government, Bill Gates, George Soros, the Clintons and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
An analysis of an Instagram account, confirmed by three senior law enforcement officials informed of the investigation into belonging to Shenker, shows Shenker burning a photo of George Floyd with a caption that profanely refers to Floyd and insults the Black Lives Matter movement.
In another post, Shenker appears to have staged an incident in which his car was hit with red paint and a sign warning Shenker to “be afraid”. The photo has an attached location corresponding to the Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The report also shows a recent post of a “Amtrak requires everyone to wear a face mask” sign burning, with the caption: “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
Shenker posted the hashtag StopTheSteal and the pro-Trump signage as well. His Twitter account, linked to a website dedicated to his nationalist program and podcast on YouTube, has been suspended.
Shenker’s lawyer and family did not respond to requests for comment.
Adiel Kaplan contributed.