Two in custody after ‘suspicious devices’ lit outside Gracie Mansion amid anti-Islam protest

Two in Custody After ‘Suspicious Devices’ Lit Outside Gracie Mansion Amid Anti-Islam Protest

During Saturday’s protests near Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence in New York City, two individuals were detained after igniting what authorities called “suspicious devices.” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the incident occurred as tensions rose between an anti-Islam rally and a counterprotest, both organized by separate groups. No injuries were reported, and Tisch stated at the time the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were not present inside the mansion. However, the police department later clarified that Mamdani was indeed in the residence during the event.

Mamdaani’s spokesperson, Joe Calvello, assured that the mayor and first lady remained unharmed. “Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly,” Calvello said in a statement. The devices, which were examined by a bomb squad, were described as small, football-sized containers wrapped in black tape. They contained nuts, bolts, screws, and a hobby fuse, but it was unclear if they held explosive material.

The NYPD confirmed the devices were still under investigation to determine whether they were functional, improvised explosive, or merely hoax items. Both were transported for further testing. The anti-Islam protest, led by conservative influencer Jake Lang, had 20 participants, while the counterprotest, named “Run the Nazis out of New York City, Stand Against Hate,” reached its peak with 125 demonstrators.

The demonstrations began around 11 a.m., with protesters separated into distinct areas by police. Tensions peaked shortly before noon when a protester from the Lang group deployed pepper spray toward counterprotesters, leading to an arrest. At 12:30 p.m., an 18-year-old counterprotester “lit and threw an ignited device toward the protest area,” according to Tisch. The device landed in a crosswalk, where witnesses saw flames and smoke as it traveled. It hit a barrier and extinguished before reaching police officers. The individual then retrieved a second device from a 19-year-old man and ignited it on the west side of East End Avenue.

Following the incident, officers created a safety perimeter and conducted a search, including K-9 units and manual checks, for additional devices. By Saturday evening, no further threats had been found. Tisch noted that the event was captured on NYPD surveillance footage, though there was no immediate link to the ongoing hostilities in Iran. The FBI’s joint terrorism task force has since joined the investigation.

“Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly,” said Joe Calvello, Mamdani’s spokesperson.

Overall, six people were arrested during the day’s events—two for handling the devices, one for using pepper spray, and three others for disorderly conduct and traffic obstruction. Jake Lang, a right-wing provocateur previously pardoned for charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, has organized similar rallies in recent weeks. The protest coincided with Ramadan, a holy month observed by Muslims globally. Lang had promised to burn a Quran at the demonstration but did not do so. He also led an anti-immigration protest in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman fatally shot by a federal immigration officer.