Two people are in custody after a pair of “suspicious devices” were ignited Saturday, March 7, during protests outside of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. The incident took place during an anti-Islam demonstration led by conservative influencer Jake Lang and a counterprotest, according to NBC News.
No injuries were reported, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Tisch said that she believes Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji were not home at the time. Mamdani spokesperson Joe Calvello confirmed that the couple was safe.
“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.
How the incident unfolded
A bomb squad examined the devices, which were described as being smaller than a football. They looked like a jar wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts, screws and a hobby fuse, Tisch said.
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“We do not yet know whether the devices were functional, improvised explosive devices or hoax devices, because we don’t yet know if there was energetic material contained in them,” Tisch said.
Both the devices were transported for further testing and analysis.
Tisch said that the protest, led by Lang, drew 20 participants. It was titled ‘Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer’. On the other hand, the counterprotest, ‘Run the Nazis out of New York City, Stand Against Hate,’ drew 125 demonstrators at its peak.
The protests began around 11 am. Police separated both groups into designated areas. However, shortly before noon, tensions escalated.
A protester from the Lang group fired pepper spray at counterprotesters at 12:15 pm, and was arrested, according to Tisch. She added that shortly after 12:30 pm, an 18-year-old counterprotester “lit and threw an ignited device toward the protest area.”
The device landed in the crosswalk, following which witnesses “reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air,” she added The device struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from cops.
The counterprotester then retrieved another device from a 19-year-old man, police said, before lighting it and running with it. The individual then dropped it on the west side of East End Avenue between East 86th and East 87th streets, Tisch said.
Both the people were taken into custody, but no charges had been filed as of Saturday evening, according to the NYPD. The incident was captured on an NYPD surveillance camera, according to Tisch.
Tisch added that there was no immediate indication the incident “is related to the ongoing hostilities in Iran.” An investigation is underway.
Officers went on to establish a safety perimeter and launched a search after the devices were seen. K-9 sweeps and manual canvassing were done to look for potential additional devices, but none were found as of Saturday evening.
Overall, as many as six people were arrested as a result of the protest, including the two men “responsible for handling and deploying the devices,” the person who deployed pepper spray, as well as three individuals related to disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic, Tisch said.
Calvello called the protest “despicable and Islamophobic,” adding that Mamdani has spoken with Tisch. He said that the NYPD is actively investigating the protest, counterprotest and the suspicious devices outside Gracie Mansion.
