At least two people were arrested after a pair of “suspicious devices” ignited during protests outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York, on Saturday (local time), NBC News reported.
The incident occurred during an anti-Islam demonstration led by conservative influencer Jake Lang and a counter-protest, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters. A spokesman for the NYPD said there were no injuries.
Tisch previously said she did not believe New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani or First Lady Rama Duwaji were inside Gracie Mansion at the time. However, the police department clarified on March 7 that Mamdani was inside the residence. His spokesman, Joe Calvello, said the mayor and his wife were safe. Calvello said in a statement: “Thankfully both the mayor and the first lady are safe, although the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face on a regular basis.”
Protest against Islam in New York
A protest led by Lang called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York, Stop New York’s Public Muslim Prayer” drew about 20 participants. The “Run Nazis Out of New York, Stand Up to Hate” counter-protest saw a peak of 125 protesters, officials said.
Read also | Is Zohran Mamdani’s New York going overboard with the tax-and-spend agenda?
Demonstrators initially gathered in protest areas designated by the police. However, tensions escalated and shortly before noon, a protester associated with Lang’s group used pepper spray against the protesters and was later taken into custody.
An 18-year-old man, allegedly from a counter-protest group, ignited the device and hurled it towards the protest area, where it landed on a crosswalk near police officers. Witnesses said the object, according to Tisch, produced flames and smoke before crashing into a barrier and exiting a short distance from officers. Authorities said the man then allegedly received a second device from the 19-year-old, lit it on fire and dropped it on East End Avenue before both individuals were taken into custody.
Six arrested for rioting outside Mamdani’s residence
According to a Bloomberg report, six people were arrested in connection with the disturbance during the anti-Muslim protest outside Mamdani’s residence. The incident happened around 11 a.m. (local time) near East End Avenue and East 87th Street. Of the six arrested, two were responsible for handling and deploying the device, another person used pepper spray, and three others were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.
The bomb squad scouted the facility: Tisch
According to the NBC report, the police commissioner said the “suspicious devices” were investigated by the bomb squad. They were described as smaller than a football and appeared to be wrapped in jars with black tape, nuts, bolts, screws and a hobby fuse.
Tisch said, “We don’t know yet whether these were functional improvised explosive devices or fake devices because we don’t know yet whether they contained energetic material.”
An investigation is underway, according to police
Tisch said there was no immediate indication that the incident outside Mamdani’s residence was related to ongoing hostilities in Iran, though she added that the investigation was ongoing. NBC, citing sources, said the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was also involved in the investigation.
