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Suspect In Queens Bomb Scare Is Pro-Trump Activist Connected To White Nationalist Group
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 5, 2021
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Obtained by Gothamist
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jan 5, 2021
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The man who allegedly triggered an hours-long bomb scare outside a Queens mall on Monday is a far-right activist with a history of threatening Black Lives Matter protesters. He turned himself in to police at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Louis Shenker, 22, is believed to have left a stolen Tesla, rigged with electrical wires and a fuel canister, on a ramp outside the Queens Place Mall in Elmhurst. The vehicle prompted an evacuation of the area on Monday morning. There were no explosives inside the car, and police eventually deemed it a "hoax device."
Photos shared with Gothamist show the vehicle was also affixed with a Black Lives Matter sign, raising suspicions that the stunt was meant to discredit the movement. Police also recovered a dog that they said was trapped inside the vehicle.
Shenker is known to NYPD officers and federal agents for past alleged attacks on local progressives. He was arrested last week for allegedly setting fire to part of a Black Lives Matter vigil at Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side, according to a complaint shared with Gothamist.
Social media posts affiliated with Shenker suggest he is a member of the "Groyper" movement, a loose network of white nationalists aiming to rebrand the Alt Right. He is an outspoken Trump supporter, who has threatened on his podcast to disrupt the run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday, and has spread conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic.
Shenker was also interviewed by the FBI last month after making threats against Mayor Bill de Blasio at an anti-lockdown protest on Staten Island.
Shenker was initially stopped by officers inside the parking lot at around 5 a.m. on Monday, but was not arrested, according to the source. Police are seeking a second person who they believe was involved in the Tesla scare.
John Miller, deputy commissioner of the NYPD's intelligence bureau, said at a briefing on Monday that the Tesla incident was likely a deliberate act intended to sow panic.
"A great deal of inconvenience was incurred by an act that seems deliberate to cause that inconvenience and expense," Miller said.
Shenker has not yet been charged in Monday's incident, police said. He is due in court in March for his most recent arrest.
An attorney representing Shenker did not respond to a request for comment.
Tagged
queens
bomb scare
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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