New York City police have arrested two men who say they were inspired by ISIS to throw improvised explosive devices during dueling protests outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home on Saturday.
Authorities discovered three devices in total as tensions escalated between anti-Islam protesters and a left-wing counter-protest group. Right-wing activist Jake Lang organized the anti-Islam protest to oppose the “Islamification” of New York City, as well as public Muslim prayer. Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s largest city.
“Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi were arrested on scene yesterday and are in custody in connection with this matter,” NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “The NYPD is working on this investigation with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force.”
Both men admitted to having been inspired by the terrorist group, police say.
The first device, thrown outside of Gracie Mansion toward Lang’s group and police, did not explode. The man who allegedly threw the first explosive lit a second, dropped it, and ran. The third was found on Sunday, in connection with Saturday’s activities, but tested negative for explosive material, according to Tisch.
“Preliminary test results determined that these were not hoax devices, nor smoke bombs,” Tisch said. “They were improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death.”
Around 20 anti-Islam protesters gathered to “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.” The group was confronted by counter-protesters, the “Drive the Nazis Out of New York” group, which drew more than 125 supporters, Tisch said.
In a statement following the weekend’s events, Mamdani called Lang a “white supremacist.”
“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,” Mamdani wrote in a post on X. “It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.”
After condemning the anti-Islam rhetoric, Mamdani addressed the ISIS-connected violence.
“What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” Mamdani said.
Lang, who participated in the January 6, 2021, protests in Washington D.C., is currently facing misdemeanor charges in D.C. Superior Court for threatening a police officer at the Capitol.
The two suspects are 18 and 19 years old and are from Pennsylvania. Law enforcement went to one of the suspects’ homes in Bucks County, Pa., on Sunday, according to a local CNN affiliate. The Newtown Township Police Department is working with the FBI on its investigation.