Federal prosecutors in New York have charged two Pennsylvania teenagers after improvised explosive devices were thrown near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan on Saturday, in an incident police say is being investigated as 'ISIS-inspired terrorism' linked to an anti-Muslim protest outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's official home. Police said none of the devices detonated fully and no one was injured, but Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the objects were designed to 'injure, maim or worse'.
For context, the first public accounts on Saturday were narrower and more cautious. At that stage, the NYPD said two people had been taken into custody after 'suspicious devices' were ignited outside Gracie Mansion during duelling demonstrations, and bomb squad officers were still trying to establish whether the items were functional explosive devices or hoaxes. By Monday, investigators had moved well beyond that uncertainty, with Tisch saying one device contained a highly volatile homemade explosive and federal authorities filing terrorism related charges.
