A device ignited & hurled at #GracieMansion during a clash between opposing protest groups Saturday was an #IED capable of causing “serious injury or death,” the NYPD said Sunday.

The incident unfolded during the #Islamic holy month of #Ramadan outside the home of New York City’s first #Muslim mayor, Zohran #Mamdani, & his wife Rama Duwaji.

#law #Islamophobia #HateCrime #terrorism
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/07/us/gracie-mansion-protests-ignited-device

2 arrested after ignited device was thrown amid tensions between counter protest groups outside NYC mayor’s mansion

Two people were arrested after two “suspicious” devices, which are still being analyzed, were ignited outside the New York City mayor’s mansion as tensions escalated between two opposing protest groups, police said.

CNN

“The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited & deployed at a protest yesterday & has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in a post on X. “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

Analysis of a second device recovered at the scene is ongoing. No injuries were reported.

#law #Islamophobia #HateCrime #terrorism #IED #Mamdani #NYC

An anti-Islam protest organized by #FarRight influencer & #Trump #pardoned #Jan6 #insurgent #JakeLang drew barely 20 participants, while a counter-protest called “Drive the Nazis Out of New York” peaked at about 125 people, Tisch said.

The 2 groups were separated into designated #protest areas by NYPD officers, but tensions escalated shortly before noon. At around 12:15PM, a protester associated with Lang’s group used pepper spray against counterprotesters, Tisch said.

#law #Islamophobia

About 20 minutes later, an 18-year-old alleged counterprotester “lit & threw an ignited device toward the protest area,” which landed on a crosswalk, Tisch said.

“Witnesses reported seeing flames & smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier & extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,” she added.

#law #Islamophobia #HateCrime #terrorism #IED #Mamdani #NYC

Video captured by the Citizen app shows the moment the device was thrown, with protesters & police scrambling to get away from where it landed. From another angle, a man is seen leaping over someone speaking on a megaphone & throwing the ignited device.

The man then ran southbound to retrieve a second device from a 19-year-old man before lighting it & starting to run, Tisch said. He dropped the second device on a street, & officers secured the area, taking both men into custody.

#Islamophobia

…In total, 6 people were arrested: the 2 responsible for the devices, the person who deployed pepper spray & 3 others for disorderly conduct & obstructing traffic, Tisch said.

#Mamdani on Sunday called the Lang-organized protest “rooted in bigotry & racism,” saying, “Such hate has no place in New York City.” But he said what followed was “even more disturbing.”

#law #Islamophobia #HateCrime #terrorism #IED #NYC

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device & hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible & the antithesis of who we are,” the mayor said.

The mayor & his wife are safe, & #Mamdani has been in contact with Tisch, said press secretary Joe Calvello.

The mayor thanked the men & women of the NYPD for their bravery & quick action.

#law #Islamophobia #HateCrime #terrorism #IED #NYC

#Update

#NY Police Commissioner Says #GracieMansion Incident Inspired by Islamic State [#ISIS]

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that 3 IEDs were found, including one that was found in a vehicle on Sunday. No one was injured in the incident on Saturday.

#law #Islamophobia #terrorism #IED #Mamdani #NYC
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/09/nyregion/gracie-mansion-bomb-investigation-nyc?smid=nytcore-ios-share

2 Men Charged With Supporting ISIS in Gracie Mansion Attack

Federal prosecutors say that both men cited the Islamic State after they were arrested, and one said he wanted to cause more damage than the Boston Marathon bombing. No one was injured in the incident on Saturday.

The New York Times

Tisch, said Monday the homemade bomb was thrown near #GracieMansion was being investigated as an act of #terrorism inspired by the #ISIS.

Tisch said an analysis of one of the IEDs found after a protest on Saturday contained TATP, “a dangerous & highly volatile homemade explosive that has been used in IED attacks around the world.” Mayor Zohran #Mamdani, who also spoke at the news conference, said the devices “were meant to injure, maim, or worse.” But it did not detonate, & no one was injured.

The device was thrown on Saturday outside the official residence of New York’s mayor, as a right-wing rally unfolded near #GracieMansion. The rally was led by #JakeLang, a #FarRight social media personality, who has led protests in Minneapolis, & now New York. His event on Saturday was billed as a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration near Gracie, the Upper East Side home of #Mamdani, the city’s first #Muslim mayor.

#law #Islamophobia #terrorism #IED #NYC

#JakeLang showed up with a goat & about 20 followers, who were wearing American flag hats & “Freedom” sweatshirts [#racist clowns]. As the day wore on, tensions grew with about 100 counterprotesters.

Then toward the end of the event, a man appeared to light a small black object & tossed it on a sidewalk. Police rushed to arrest him & another man, as the device emitted smoke. It did not explode.

#law #Islamophobia #terrorism #IED #Mamdani #NYC

6 people were arrested in total, including the 2 men, Emir Balat, 18, & Ibrahim Nikk Kayumi, 19, both of Pennsylvania. Both will be prosecuted in Manhattan federal court & the charges against them would be released later on Monday, Tisch said.

#law #Islamophobia #terrorism #IED #Mamdani #NYC

…One of the two men told investigators that their motive had to do with the disrespect of #Muslims by #JakeLang, the #FarRight provocateur who led the demonstration, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak about the investigation.

#Mamdani called the protest “vile” & “rooted in white supremacy,” but said that he “will not waver in my belief that it should be allowed to happen.”

#law #Islamophobia #terrorism #IED #NYC

@Nonilex I assume the goat was the brains of the operation?