Summary of this article
Six people were arrested after explosive devices were thrown during an anti-Muslim protest near Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence.
Police said two suspects allegedly ignited improvised devices made with jars, nuts and bolts before being taken into custody.
Authorities said the mayor and his wife were likely not home when the incident occurred.
Authorities in New York arrested six individuals after improvised explosive devices were ignited during an anti-Muslim protest outside the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, prompting a bomb-squad response and a terrorism investigation.
The demonstration, organised by right-wing activist Jake Lang, took place late Saturday morning near the mayor’s residence at Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side. The protest drew a small group of supporters and a larger counter-protest, according to police.
Speaking to reporters, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said two suspects are accused of handling and igniting homemade explosive devices during the confrontation.
“These appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws attached and fitted with hobby fuses,” Tisch said, describing the objects recovered by police.
Protest and counter-protest
Police said the demonstration began around 11 a.m. near East End Avenue and East 87th Street. About 20 people attended the protest organised by Lang, while roughly 125 counter-protesters gathered nearby, officials said.
Tensions escalated shortly before noon when a participant associated with Lang’s group deployed pepper spray against the counter-protesters. That individual was later arrested, according to the police commissioner.
Soon afterward, authorities say an 18-year-old protester allegedly ignited a device and hurled it toward the protest area. The object landed in a crosswalk near police officers.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke and flames as the device travelled through the air before hitting a barrier and extinguishing itself a short distance from officers, Tisch said.
Police identified the suspect as 18-year-old Amir Balat, who investigators say then ran south before obtaining another device from a 19-year-old man tentatively identified as Ibrahim Nick.
Balat allegedly lit the second device and dropped it along East End Avenue before officers detained both men, according to police.
Bomb-squad technicians later secured the items using a containment vessel for further analysis to determine whether they were fully functional improvised explosive devices or hoaxes.
Mayor not believed to be home
Police said they do not believe Mamdani or his wife, Rama Duwaji, were inside the residence when the incident occurred.
The investigation is now being conducted by the New York Police Department in coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Joe Calvello, a spokesperson for the mayor, condemned the demonstration.
“The protest was despicable and Islamophobic,” Calvello said, describing Lang as “a vile white supremacist.”
Online claims and Lang’s response
Videos circulating online showed people running after a device was thrown during the protest. Some participants could be heard saying that a “nail bomb” had been hurled.
Lang later claimed on social media that he had survived an attempted attack.
“I just survived an assassination attempt by these two Muslim men. The homemade bomb they threw landed three feet in front of me,” Lang wrote in a post accompanying footage of the chaos.
“The detonator failed to ignite, because God is on the throne of my life,” he added. “We will never surrender to Islam.”
Authorities have not confirmed any assassination attempt, and officials said the motive of the suspects remains unclear.
Background to the protest
The protest was organised amid controversy surrounding Lang’s earlier demonstration that featured a goat and drew criticism for what many described as offensive gestures during a vigil linked to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes.
Police said the situation has since stabilised, but investigations into the explosive devices and the broader unrest are continuing.
