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Police in New York have detained two suspects accused of throwing homemade explosive devices at officers during a protest outside Gracie Mansion on Monday.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, are being investigated for an “IS-inspired” attack with devices filled with nuts, bolts, and screws that failed to ignite.
The devices that were thrown at Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor of New York City.
Meanwhile, two houses in north-eastern Pennsylvania’s Middletown that are linked to the incident were searched.
The arrests follow a chaotic counter-protest against far-right activist Jake Lang, who is a vocal critic of Zohran Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Mamdani and his wife were not at their residence when the incident happened, but afterwards the mayor condemned the attempt with a statement he gave to the press, saying that “the suspects travelled from Pennsylvania with the sole intent of bringing violence to the city.”
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the city remains in a “heightened state of alert” following the start of hostilities in Iran. “We will continue to deploy additional counter-terrorism resources throughout New York City, including heavy weapons teams and canine units,” Tisch said.
Mamdani: Every peaceful protest should be allowed
During his sparsely attended protest, far-right activist Jake Lang said, “I’m trying to save New York from an Islamic takeover…..The capitalist free market, Christian capital of the world, New York City.”
In response, Mamdani, acknowledging that the “anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new,” underscored that he found the protest appalling, while reminding that every protest should be allowed to happen, as a part of a free society, as long as it is peaceful.
No official charges have yet been brought against Balat or Kayumi. Separately, one individual from the anti-Islam protest was arrested for pepper-spraying counter-protesters.