A man was detained in New York after police said he hurled what they described as “ignited devices” toward a crowd at a protest outside the mayor’s residence on Saturday.
The objects were wrapped in black tape and reportedly contained nuts, bolts and screws. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the devices were smaller than a football and appeared to be fitted with a hobby fuse that could be lit; investigators had not determined whether they were functional improvised explosives or hoaxes.
The incident happened around 11 a.m. local time (1600 UTC) at Gracie Mansion during two simultaneous demonstrations. A small, right-leaning “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” rally led by conservative influencer Jake Lang drew about 20 people, while a larger counterprotest, billed as “Drive the Nazis Out of New York,” peaked at roughly 125 participants. Officers kept the groups in separate, designated areas.
Tensions escalated before noon when a participant in Lang’s group used pepper spray against counterprotesters and was detained, Tisch said. Shortly afterward, witnesses reported that a counterprotester lit and threw an ignited device; flames and smoke were seen as it flew, and it struck a barrier and went out a few feet from police officers. The same person ran off, another man handed him a second device, and that device was dropped near Lang’s demonstrators. Both men were taken into custody.
Gracie Mansion is the official residence of New York’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani; Tisch confirmed the mayor was not at the residence during the incident.