New York police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday when anti-Islam demonstrators, led by rightwing influencer Jake Lang, clashed with counterprotesters.
New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that a preliminary bomb squad analysis of the device that was ignited and thrown during the protest had “determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb”.
“It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. Further analysis will be conducted, including on a second device,” Tisch said in a social media post.
The commissioner added that two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were arrested on the scene, are in custody in connection with the incident and that New York police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI through a terrorism taskforce.
“I want to again thank the brave members of the NYPD who ran towards the danger without hesitation and quickly apprehended the suspects,” Tisch added.
Mamdani said in a statement that Lang, had organized a protest “rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.”
He added: “What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
The mayor, who had been marking his first 100 days in office, thanked the NYPD for acting quickly to keep New Yorkers safe. “Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day,” he said.
Six people were arrested on Saturday during the clash between far-right protesters who had gathered for a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration near Gracie Mansion, the Upper East Side home of Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, and counterprotesters.
One counterprotester at the event lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the anti-Muslim protesters after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said. Fistfights broke out among the crowd, said the New York Times, and raw eggs flew through the air.
Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device Tisch described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.
The device struck a barrier and extinguished itself “a few feet from police officers”, she said. The same person then ran, and another person gave a him a second device, which he then dropped. The devices, which Tisch said were smaller than a football, were wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws, as well as a hobby fuse that could be lit.
Tisch didn’t report any injuries during a news conference and said she believed Mamdani was not in the residence at the time.
Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for January 6 defendants last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for US Senate in Florida.
Lang has also protested in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Tisch said about 20 people showed up to the protest tied to him on Saturday, and the counterprotest had about 125 people at its peak.
