Police detained a man who threw what officers said were “ignited devices” near far-right protesters demonstrating at the residence of New York’s mayor Saturday, AFP correspondents saw.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the devices contained nuts, bolts, and screws as well as a fuse — but it was not yet clear if they were functional improvised explosive devices, or hoax imitations.
There was no indication the incident was related to the ongoing hostilities in Iran, she added. Far-right influencer Jake Lang was demonstrating against alleged “Islamification” and calling for an end to “public Muslim prayer” in New York in front of Gracie Mansion, the residence of mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim.
His protest drew around 20 people, police said, while counter protesters numbered approximately 125. A man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige cargo pants was handed a device wrapped in tape and billowing smoke by a fellow activist. He dropped it near a line of police before vaulting a crash barrier.
The man also threw a similar device near Lang’s group of protesters. “Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke as it travelled through the air before it struck a barrier a few feet from police officers,” Ms. Tisch told a briefing, naming the suspect as Amir Balat, 18.
“Mr Balat then gets a second device from a man. “Mr. Balat lights the device and starts running with it. He then drops the device.” Moments later, he and the other man were detained by police, who were heavily deployed to the protest.
‘An idiot’
“The bomb squad responded and based on a preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices, which were a bit smaller than a football, appeared to be a jar wrapped in black tape — importantly with nuts, bolts, and screws along with a hobby fuse that could be lit,” Ms. Tisch added.
“We don’t yet know if they contained energetic (explosive) material.” The man, apparently a counterdemonstrator opposed to Lang, shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”), an AFP correspondent at the scene heard.
A demonstrator opposed to Lang, teacher Mia Kurzer, 23, told AFP she “showed up because we have to show that hate has no place in our city.” “We democratically elected a mayor who is Muslim — and that’s New York. We have different cultures, and we have to celebrate those cultures.”
She added that “I think [Lang] is an idiot. I think he underestimates the power of the people.” There were some scuffles, apparently between protesters and counterdemonstrators.
A protester in Lang’s group used pepper spray against counter-protesters and was arrested, Ms. Tisch said, adding that there were three other arrests for disorderly contact. Ms. Tisch said she did not believe mayor Mamdani was home.
Wally Khan, another protester opposed to Lang, told AFP “this is very in line with what he does from city to city. He tried to burn a Quran in…Dearborn” Michigan.
Published – March 08, 2026 08:48 am IST
