Prosecutors say on the morning of July 20, Andrew Arrabaca poured gasoline<\/a> on the ground in front of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, set it ablaze and threw fireworks into the flames, causing an explosion and a plume of black smoke. They claim he also fired a BB gun in the direction of the federal building.<\/p>\n Arrabaca, apparently homelessness at the time of the attack, was pulling a metal cart that contained \u201canti-government\u201d literature, according to law enforcement, including a sign reading \u201cICE Off Our Streets.\u201d<\/p>\n He was indicted on a lone count of arson on Aug. 3.<\/p>\n \u201cArrabaca used a flammable liquid to ignite a fire at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in Manhattan, threw a firework into the fire that exploded, and lit fireworks at the federal building, causing injury to at least one person and a substantial risk of injury to other persons, including federal employees, security guards and emergency personnel responding to the fire,\u201d prosecutors claim in the indictment.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Arrabaca \u2014 shackled at the feet and draped in beige jail garb \u2014 articulately entered his not guilty plea in front of U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Donald Trump appointee in the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Chong told the judge that discovery in this case is \u201crelatively voluminous,\u201d based in part on the amount of surveillance and bystander footage from the incident. Evidence was also recovered from Arrabaca\u2019s cart, Chong said, including two axes and a machete.<\/p>\n Arrabaca was denied bail by a federal magistrate judge last month, who acknowledged the defendant\u2019s likely need for mental health treatment but was nonetheless disturbed by the charged conduct.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crime you\u2019re charged with is troubling,\u201d Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky said in July. \u201cThe nature and circumstances, the fact that it was planned over time and the fact that it was carried out at a time where it can be expected that it would cause significant harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Tarnofsky ordered the government to instruct the Metropolitan Detention Center, where Arrabaca is now being held, to evaluate his mental health while inside.<\/p>\n Arrabaca is due back in court on Dec. 15, when Vyskocil is expected to set a trial date.<\/p>\n Footage from the incident quickly circulated on social media on July 20. Arrabaca was arrested on-site by federal law enforcement, and officials later claimed he was an \u201canti-American, anti-government extremist\u201d who targeted the building because of his disdain for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a cart; he had anti-ICE literature on it,\u201d the assistant director in charge of FBI New York, James Barnacle, said at a press conference that day. \u201cWhen he was being arrested, he yelled derogatory terms toward ICE, used bad words.\u201d<\/p>\n Barnacle added that Arrabaca \u201ccame armed with bad intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will say that 26 Federal Plaza has long been a target of extremists, of terrorists, and today the extremism was brought here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The once-nondescript government office has taken on a role of infamy during the second Trump administration as a controversial centerpiece for its mass deportation campaign. For months, ICE took the unprecedented step of stationing officers directly outside of 26 Federal Plaza\u2019s immigration courtrooms, making arrests at court-ordered hearings<\/a> and ICE check-ins.<\/p>\n The building is also home to an embattled short-term immigration jail<\/a>, which has been rife with claims of overcrowding, unhygienic living conditions and a lack of access to legal services.<\/p>\n Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing
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