“All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds,” he wrote, according to the complaint. “I pledge my allegience [sic] to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar!”
The complaint noted that “kuffar” is a term for non-Muslim, and “die in your rage” is an Islamic State slogan based on a verse in the Quran, the Muslim scripture.
Besides his Islamist terrorist motivation, Balat made it clear that his goal was mass murder.
When interrogators asked Balat if he was attempting to do something like the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, in which two Muslim brothers detonated explosives near the finish line of the event, Balat confirmed that he was.