Suspect in Queens Bomb Scare Is Pro-Trump Activist Connected to White Nationalist Group

By Jake Offenhartz, Gothamist

05 January 21

 

he 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.

Please avoid the area of Queens Place Mall due to a suspicious package. Expect delays if traveling in the surrounding area. Update to follow. pic.twitter.com/Os8X62Q6s8

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 4, 2021

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.

Louis Shenker - Groyper, harasser, and right-wing grifter - began a made-for-TV pop up occupation last night under the guise of an anti-lockdown, anti-DeBlasio "Chanukah Rave", displacing the #BLM vigil at Carl Shurz Park after 190+ days, all with the blessing of the NYPD. pic.twitter.com/DhKYjitQpR

— Outlive Them NYC (@outlivethemnyc) December 13, 2020

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.