Far-right agitator arrested for Queens Place bomb hoax
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A suspect in the Queens Place Mall bomb hoax turned himself into police Tuesday. Photo via NYPD
By Rachel Vick
A far-right agitator with a history of bizarre behavior has been charged with planting a phony bomb in a stolen car at a Queens Place Mall parking garage, a hoax that forced an evacuation and triggered a major law enforcement response Monday morning
Louis Shenker, a 22-year-old rightwing podcaster, turned himself in to police Tuesday morning. He is charged with placing a false bomb in a mall or arena and criminal possession of stolen property.
The phony bomb — a can of lighter fluid and a collection of wires — was “set up to appear to be a device,” said Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller.
The NYPD Bomb Squad and Counter-terrorism Unit responded to a 911 call about the vehicle shortly after 7:40 a.m. and police and firefighters evacuated the mall.
“We deeply appreciate the heroic efforts of the NYPD and FDNY to keep Queens Place Mall and our neighborhood safe,” a Queens Place Mall spokesperson told the Eagle. “We wish to thank our shoppers, tenants and the community for their strong and continuing support.”
Shenker was also charged with endangering an animal — a husky that he left inside the car with the fake bomb. Police rescued the dog Monday morning.
The incident recalled the Christmas Day car bomb that killed a perpetrator and left eight injured in Nashville.
It’s not the first time that Shenker has been accused of attention-seeking stunts. He was arrested in December after allegedly burning posters outside Gracie Mansion. He was charged with criminal mischief and two counts of low-level arson for the alleged offense.
Shenker, an active social media user, had attempted to rally followers for a maskless gathering outside the mayor’s Upper East Side residence. His Twitter account is currently suspended for violating the platform’s terms of service.
He was expelled from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 for threatening a faculty member. He later sued the school, charging that he was the victim of anti-white and anti-Jewish attacks by peers and faculty.
His antics at UMass gained him an invite to appear on the fringe network InfoWars.
