{"id":157627,"date":"2026-03-09T09:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/157627\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T09:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:20:11","slug":"zohran-mamdani-the-fbis-terrorism-task-force-is-investigating-an-explosive-device-thrown-near-nyc-mayors-home-heres-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/157627\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani: The FBI\u2019s terrorism task force is investigating an explosive device thrown near NYC mayor\u2019s home. Here\u2019s what we know"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A man hurled an improvised explosive device<\/a> amid dueling protests outside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s Manhattan residence on Saturday, prompting an investigation by federal terrorism authorities and the discovery of an additional device in a nearby car the next day.\n <\/p>\n

\n While the device thrown Saturday did not explode, police said it was capable of causing \u201cserious injury or death.\u201d Law enforcement sources told CNN the two men arrested in connection with the device admitted to being inspired by ISIS.\n <\/p>\n

\n The violence erupted during an anti-Islam protest organized by a right-wing provocateur that was dwarfed by a crowd of more than 100 counterprotesters, officials said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Saturday\u2019s clash unfolded during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Mamdani, who is the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor, and his wife Rama Duwaji, were not at Gracie Mansion at the time, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Here\u2019s what we know:\n <\/p>\n

\n An anti-Islam protest organized by right-wing influencer Jake Lang<\/a> drew roughly 20 participants, while a counterprotest called \u201cDrive the Nazis Out of New York\u201d peaked at about 125 people, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Tensions between the two groups, who were separated into designated protest areas, escalated shortly before noon. At around 12:15 p.m., a protester associated with Lang\u2019s group pepper-sprayed counterprotesters, Tisch said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Twenty minutes later, a counterprotester \u201cthrew an ignited device toward the protest area,\u201d which landed on a crosswalk, Tisch said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Video shows the moment the device was thrown, with protesters and police officers scrambling to get away from where it landed.\n <\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWitnesses 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,\u201d the commissioner said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The man then retrieved a second device from another man before lighting it and starting to run, Tisch said. He dropped the second device on the street, where it appeared to emit smoke but also did not explode.\n <\/p>\n

\n Officers secured the area, taking both men, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old, into custody. Authorities have not yet announced any charges.\n <\/p>\n

\n Police told The New York Times <\/a> the two teenagers are from Pennsylvania. CNN has reached out to the NYPD for further information.\n <\/p>\n

\n The anti-Islam protester accused of using pepper spray was also arrested, along with three others for alleged disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic, Tisch said.\n <\/p>\n

\n A preliminary analysis from the NYPD bomb squad determined both devices recovered Saturday were slightly smaller than a football and appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape containing bolts, screws and a hobby fuse, Tisch said.\n <\/p>\n

\n The device thrown into the crosswalk appears to have been made with TATP, an extraordinarily powerful and unstable explosive that\u2019s easy to obtain, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN, citing preliminary inspection results.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,\u201d Tisch said in a post on X<\/a>. Analysis of the second device recovered at the scene is ongoing.\n <\/p>\n

\n On Sunday, the NYPD said it was investigating a suspicious device in a vehicle a few blocks south of Gracie Mansion \u201cin connection with\u201d Saturday\u2019s incident.\n <\/p>\n

\n The area was blocked off, and \u201climited evacuations\u201d of buildings were conducted while the bomb squad checked out and removed the device for further testing, police said.\n <\/p>\n

\n A Honda Civic was removed on a flatbed truck around 7 p.m. Sunday and the streets were reopened, The Associated Press<\/a> reported.\n <\/p>\n

\n Mamdani called Saturday\u2019s anti-Islam protest \u201crooted in bigotry and racism\u201d but said what followed was \u201ceven more disturbing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cViolence 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,\u201d the mayor said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Mamdani and Tisch are scheduled to hold a news conference at Gracie Mansion Monday morning.\n <\/p>\n

\n The two men arrested in connection with the explosive devices remain in custody, the FBI said Sunday evening, noting its New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating along with the NYPD and the US Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York.\n <\/p>\n

\n The devices are being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n A large law enforcement presence was seen around one of the arrested teenagers\u2019 homes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Sunday, according to CNN affiliate KYW<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is the FBI, everybody come out,\u201d authorities were heard saying over a megaphone, leading three people to exit the residence, the outlet reported.\n <\/p>\n

\n The FBI told KYW it was conducting \u201ccourt authorized law enforcement activity\u201d in the area but didn\u2019t provide details.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Newtown Township Police Department said it was assisting the FBI with an investigation Sunday afternoon and residents may see a large law enforcement presence, according to the outlet.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has reached out to the FBI and Newtown Township police for information.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man hurled an improvised explosive device amid dueling protests outside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s Manhattan residence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-157627","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-ny","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-nyc-headlines","12":"tag-nyc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}