Associated Press
Improvised Explosive Device Thrown at Protest in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — An anti-Islam demonstration in New York City turned chaotic when a counterprotester reportedly hurled an improvised explosive device during the event. This incident, confirmed by a preliminary police analysis, took place at a protest organized by far-right activist Jake Lang outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Manhattan residence.
The event, titled “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” saw limited participation from its supporters but attracted a considerably larger group of counterdemonstrators. According to police, one counterprotester threw a smoking object filled with nuts, bolts, screws, and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch clarified in a social media update that the bomb squad had verified the object was not a hoax or a smoke bomb but an actual “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.” The device extinguished close to police officers, and the same individual who threw it reportedly received another device from a fellow counterprotester, which was dropped and did not ignite.
Two counterprotesters were taken into custody, and charges against them are pending. The investigation is being conducted in collaboration with federal prosecutors and the FBI.
Mayor Mamdani condemned the violence, stating, “Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
Additionally, a participant in Lang’s protest was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, assault, and unlawful possession of a noxious matter for allegedly macing counterprotesters.
Jake Lang, who has previously faced charges for assaulting an officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and received clemency from former President Donald Trump, is now running for U.S. Senate in Florida. Earlier in the year, he organized a rally in Minneapolis backing Trump’s immigration policies, which drew a hostile crowd of counterprotesters.
