Incendiary device set off outside federal building amid anti-ICE protests

Officials said a man with a history of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity set off an incendiary device outside a federal building in Manhattan as demonstrations over immigration enforcement continued across New York City. The incident came amid protests in Lower Manhattan and outside 26 Federal Plaza, one of the main flashpoints in the city’s clash over ICE enforcement.

The Manhattan episode sits alongside a separate security case that has sharpened attention on public buildings in the city. Federal prosecutors and police charged two men after they tried to detonate explosive devices during protests outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, and the Justice Department said the suspects were ISIS supporters.

Investigators said one of the devices was thrown at an anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Mansion. Federal investigators later found explosive residue in a storage unit after the arrests, and one device was described as designed to be deadly. The case brought New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch into the public response, with Mamdani saying extremism of any kind would not be tolerated in the city.

Together, the incidents underscore how anti-ICE demonstrations and other charged protests have created overlapping threats around Manhattan sites that draw heavy police and federal protection. The federal building incident, tied to a suspect with prior anti-ICE activity, and the Gracie Mansion case, which involved alleged ISIS sympathizers and explosive devices, have put pressure on city and federal officials to secure prominent buildings while investigators sort out motive, ideology and intent through the charges.