Device thrown at Gracie Mansion protest was an explosive device, police say

"It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death. The football-sized devices appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape and filled with nuts, screws and bolts. They had fuses that could be lit."

"The protest was organized by far-right activist and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang and was called 'Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City. Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer.' Roughly 125 counterprotesters confronted Lang's supporters. A series of scuffles broke out between the two groups."

"Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. What followed was even more concerning as an explosive device was deployed during the confrontation."

During an anti-Muslim protest organized by far-right activist Jake Lang near Gracie Mansion in New York City, an improvised explosive device was thrown during confrontations between approximately 20 Lang supporters and 125 counterprotesters. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the device was not a hoax or smoke bomb but a functional explosive capable of causing serious injury or death. The devices resembled football-sized jars wrapped in black tape, filled with nuts, screws, and bolts, equipped with fuses. Two men, 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, were arrested for handling the devices. The FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force joined the investigation. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York's first Muslim mayor, condemned both the protest and the bombing attempt.

Read at Gothamist