A man was detained in New York for throwing what police described as “ignited devices” near far-right protesters outside the mayor’s residence on Saturday.
The objects, wrapped in black tape, contained nuts, bolts and screws, officials said. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the devices were smaller than a football and fitted with a hobby fuse that could be lit; it remained unclear whether they were functional improvised explosives or hoaxes.
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. local time (1600 UTC) at Gracie Mansion during two simultaneous protests: a small “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration led by conservative influencer Jake Lang that attracted about 20 people, and a larger counterprotest called “Drive the Nazis Out of New York,” which peaked at roughly 125 participants. Officers kept the groups in separate, designated areas.
Tensions rose before noon when a protester from Lang’s group used pepper spray against counterprotesters and was detained, Tisch said. Shortly afterward, a counterprotester lit and hurled an ignited device toward the other side. Witnesses reported flames and smoke as it flew through the air; it struck a barrier and extinguished a few feet from police officers. The same person ran off, and another man handed him a second device, which he then 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 Mamdani was not at the residence during the incident.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
