2 arrested after devices thrown during protests near Gracie Mansion in NYC
Two men were arrested after police said ignited suspicious devices were thrown during opposing protests outside Gracie Mansion, the New York City mayor’s official residence in Manhattan. No injuries were reported and the devices are still being tested to determine whether they were functional explosive devices or hoaxes.
The incident happened shortly after noon Saturday near East End Avenue and East 87th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
About 20 people attended a protest billed as “Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City/Stop New York City public muslim prayer,” which was organized by individuals associated with far-right “provocateur” and pardoned Jan. 6 individual Jake Lang, while a nearby counter-protest, “Run the Nazis out of New York City/Stand against hate,” drew about 125 people at its peak, according to Tisch.
NYPD officers kept the groups in separate protest areas, Tisch said. At about 12:15 p.m., a protester associated with the Jake Lang group used pepper spray against counter-protesters and was arrested.
At about 12:38 p.m., police said an 18-year-old counter-protester identified as Amir Balat lit and threw an ignited device toward the protest area. Tisch said the device landed in the crosswalk at East 87th Street and East End Avenue after witnesses saw flames and smoke as it traveled through the air. It hit a barrier and went out a few feet from officers.
Police said Balat then ran south on East End Avenue toward East 86th Street and got a second device from a 19-year-old man tentatively identified as Ibrahim Nick. Tisch said Balat lit the second device while running, then dropped it on the west side of East End Avenue between East 88th and East 87th streets.
Officers moved in and took both men into custody, Tisch said. She said the encounter was captured on NYPD Argus cameras.
The bomb squad responded and examined both devices. Tisch said preliminary examination and X-ray imaging showed what appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws attached. She said each device was slightly smaller than a football.
Police have not yet determined whether the devices contained energetic material, Tisch added. Both were taken by the bomb squad in a total containment vessel to Rodman’s Neck, an NYPD facility in the Bronx, for further testing and analysis.
After the devices were recovered, officers set up a safety perimeter and searched the surrounding area for additional hazards. The response includes K9 sweeps and manual checks of garbage cans, vehicles and other locations where more devices could have been hidden. As of Saturday evening, police had not found any additional suspicious devices.
Tisch said six people were arrested in total during the protests. She said that included the two men accused of handling the devices, the protester accused of using pepper spray, and others arrested on disorderly conduct and traffic obstruction.
Officials said there is no indication so far that the incident was related to the ongoing hostilities involving Iran, though the investigation remains active.
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