The FBI on Sunday raided the homes of two men allegedly connected to an incident which involved an explosive device during a protest in front of the home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The incident occurred on Saturday when conservative social media influencer Jake Lang held an anti-Islam rally near Gracie Mansion. Some among the counterprotesters demonstrating against Lang’s rally allegedly threw an improvised explosive device.
From WPVI:
Six people were arrested Saturday in New York City following a dueling protest outside Gracie Mansion, and federal authorities have launched a terrorism investigation.
Two of those arrested are from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and remain in custody.
On Sunday, FBI agents searched the homes of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi in Newtown and 18-year-old Emir Balat in Langhorne.
The searches came after the NYPD said at least one improvised explosive device was deployed during the protest, with additional devices now under investigation.
"Nothing like this happens around here. So it's pretty scary," Newtown neighbor Pamela Pulsinelli said.
Residents reported seeing agents detain a male outside Kayumi's home.
"Coming out with his arms up and being handcuffed and put into the van. Insane," Pulsinelli said.
The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or…
— Jessica S. Tisch (@NYPDPC) March 8, 2026
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The authorities say the two men confronted Lang during the protest and “handled and deployed two explosive devices.” Witnesses saw “flames and smoke as it traveled through the air before it struck a barrier and extinguished itself a few feet from police officers,” WPVI reported.
Police say the device that was thrown was a jar wrapped in black tape and packed full of nuts, bolts, and screws and was capable of causing serious injury or death. The anti-Islam group stood on one side while the larger group of counterprotesters gathered on the other.
The situation escalated after one of the anti-Islam demonstrators used pepper spray, according to The Associated Press.
A counterprotester demonstrating against a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event Saturday lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the protesting crowd after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said.
Police are investigating the incident that started late Saturday morning when someone from the anti-Islam protest associated with conservative influencer Jake Lang shot pepper spray into a counterprotesting group near the mayoral residence Gracie Mansion, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device she described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.
The device struck a barrier and extinguished itself “a few feet from police officers,” she said. The same person then ran, and another person gave a him a second device, which he then dropped. The devices, which Tisch said were smaller than a football, were wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts, and screws, as well as a hobby fuse that could be lit. She said it was unclear if they were functioning devices or a hoax.
Police arrested two suspected of throwing the explosive device and several others on charges including disorderly conduct and assault. One of the suspects said he wanted the attack to be more deadly than the Boston Marathon bombing, according to the federal complaint.
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