Andrew Arrabaca faces up to 40 years in prison. The FBI says he has admitted carrying out the attack, which is dramatically depicted in the complaint.
The man alleged to have ignited an explosive fire at the entrance of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in lower Manhattan was charged Tuesday in federal court, just across the street.
Andrew Arrabaca (see my prior posts, here and here) was charged in a criminal complaint with one court of arson — statutorily speaking, the complaint alleges that he “maliciously damaged and destroyed, and attempted to damage and destroy, by means of fire and an explosive, a building” owned or leased by the United States. (See Section 844(f) of the federal criminal code.)
The allegation elaborates that at least one person was injured (there were three reported injuries, all apparently minor) and that Arrabaca caused a substantial risk of injury to many others. Thousands of federal employees work in the facility, which houses the FBI’s New York Field Office and Homeland Security agencies; moreover, hundreds of civilians visit the building daily, including aliens involved in immigration proceedings.
If indicted and eventually found guilty on the charge, Arrabaca would face a minimum of seven years and a maximum of 40 years in prison. The defendant is in custody, so an indictment could be filed within the next two weeks — although that could be delayed for various reasons, including (I suspect) psychological evaluations. I expect that an indictment would include additional felony charges.
Arrabaca, 43, resides in Poughkeepsie. He is a former U.S. Army mechanic, currently working as a preservation company program assistant in the Hudson Valley. He has a psychology degree (2008) from SUNY New Paltz, where he also worked as a research assistant. He has a history (circa 2013-14) of climate activism, urging federal and state agencies to cut fuel consumption and reduce pollution.
The complaint features photographs of the man alleged to be Arrabaca, pouring flammable liquid on the street and igniting a fire. He depicted is wearing military style camouflage and a helmet, which bore several phrases, including “Kill yourself.” He is further seen firing what appears to be a rifle, later determined to be a BB gun, in the direction of the building.
The complaint also describes the wagon Arrabaca allegedly used in carrying out the attack:
The Wagon contained numerous items, including a BB rifle and a pellet rifle, a machete, two hatchets, a mallet, a hammer, and what appeared to be several fireworks, including a cylindrical, multi-shot consumer firework with a printed label reading “Nuclear Warhead” and a black and yellow radiation symbol, as pictured below. The Wagon also contained a sign on its exterior bearing the phrase “ICE Off Our Streets.”
Arrabaca is said to have waived his Miranda rights and made post-arrest statements, in which he admitted carrying out the attack. According to the complaint, he told the FBI that he was motivated by anti-government beliefs, including (as the complaint summarizes) “that government authorities were unlawfully harming people.” He added that he intentionally targeted the federal building, and was willing to run the risk that people could die or be seriously injured. In fact, he said he specifically chose to target the entrance upon observing that it was “busy” — and the FBI notes that this includes an obvious presence of uniformed security guards and other law enforcement agents, in addition to visitor ingress and egress.
The charges were announced by Jay Clayton, President Trump’s Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, accompanied by officials from the FBI, NYPD, and Federal Protective Service (a Homeland Security agency responsible for the physical security of federal facilities). As we’ve noted in other posts, the president has nominated Clayton to a cabinet post, director of national intelligence.