Improvised explosive device was thrown during dueling protests outside NYC mayor's home: Police
Two Pennsylvania men arrested outside the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a counterprotest on Saturday told investigators they watched ISIS videos and confronted the far-right, anti-immigrant provocateur Jake Lang, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Emir Balat of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Ibrahim Kayumi of Newton, Pennsylvania, are expected to face federal charges after they allegedly threw possible explosive devices during the counterprotest, the sources said.
The devices they allegedly threw, at first thought to be smoke bombs, were tested by the New York Police Department's bomb squad and determined to have been possible explosive devices, according to the sources.
The devices are being sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for additional testing, according to the source.
NYPD police Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said earlier Sunday that one of the suspicious devices thrown during an anti-Muslim protest outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's residence, was an improvised explosive device.
Tisch said the city's Bomb Squad had conducted a preliminary analysis of the device that was ignited and "has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also released a statement Sunday, denouncing the protest and thanking the police officers who responded to the incident.
"Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City," Mamdani said. "It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are. What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are."
He went on, "I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day."Overall, police arrested six people in connection with the dueling protests.
About 20 organizers "associated with far-right provocateur Jake Lang" took part in the anti-Muslim protest while 120 counterprotesters gathered outside the mansion around noon, Tisch told reporters on Saturday.
Tensions flared, and one of the members of the anti-Muslim group allegedly used pepper spray on a counterprotester and was arrested, Tisch said.
Shortly after that, an 18-year-old counterprotester was seen lighting and throwing a device, Tisch said.
"Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers," she told reporters.
The suspect allegedly got another device from a 19-year-old suspect, lit it and ran with it before he dropped it, Tisch said. Officers arrested both suspects, according to the commissioner.
The commissioner said the two suspicious devices appeared to be "a jar wrapped in black tape, with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit."
No injuries were reported during the incident and the investigation was ongoing.
Joe Calvello, a spokesman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, said the city's first Muslim mayor, and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were safe when the incident unfolded outside Gracie Mansion. It was not immediately clear if they were inside the mansion.
Calvello called Lang a "vile white supremacist" and condemned the protest as "despicable and Islamophobic."
"Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly," he said.
Lang has not commented on the incident or the arrests.
In addition to the arrest of the suspects who allegedly used the devices and the suspect who used the pepper spray, three others were arrested for disorderly conduct and blocking traffic, Tisch said.
The commissioner on Saturday commended the actions of officers on the scene who rushed to action when they saw the smoking devices.
"I always speak about the police running toward the danger when everyone else runs away. Let me be clear, that happened today," Tisch said.
