Six arrested after smoking jars and fuses thrown outside Gracie Mansion

A small anti-Muslim rally led by conservative activist Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion escalated into chaos today when at least two smoking devices, described by police as jars fitted with hobby fuses, were lit and thrown toward the crowd, prompting a bomb-squad response and six arrests.

The demonstration organized by Lang, who drew roughly 20 followers, faced a much larger counterprotest that the NYPD estimated at roughly 125 people. Police separated the groups into designated protest areas as tensions rose. Witnesses and reporting from The New York Times said Lang arrived with a goat and supporters in American flag hats and “Freedom” sweatshirts; fistfights broke out, raw eggs were thrown and a member of Lang’s group used mace, sending some counterprotesters doubling over in tears.

Around midday an 18-year-old, identified by police as Amir Balat, lit and threw a smoking object that witnesses described as trailing flames and smoke as it flew through the air before striking a barrier and extinguishing itself a few feet from officers. A second device was obtained from a 19-year-old, lit and dropped along East End Avenue; both young men were taken into custody. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said two of the six arrested are accused of handling and igniting improvised explosives, and that another arrest was made for the use of pepper spray.

“Tisch said: ‘Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,’” authorities told reporters. Bomb-squad technicians performed preliminary X-ray imaging, placed the items in a containment vessel and transported them for forensic testing. “We do not yet know whether the devices were functional, improvised explosive devices or hoax devices, because we don’t yet know if there was energetic material contained in them,” Commissioner Tisch added, according to NBC.

No injuries were reported. City officials said Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the first lady, Rama Duwaji, were believed not to be at home at the time; Mamdani’s spokesperson Joe Calvello said, “Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly.” The mayor is New York City’s first Muslim mayor, a fact that underscored the political tenor of the demonstrators’ slogans, which police and the mayor’s office characterized as anti-Muslim.

Bloomberg reported that the incident prompted a terrorism investigation; authorities said they were treating the devices as potential improvised explosive devices while forensic testing proceeds. Police have not released formal charges for all six arrestees beyond the descriptions of device handling and pepper spray use. Bomb technicians will complete lab analysis to determine whether the jars contained energetic material, and Manhattan prosecutors will review evidence to determine criminal filings.