Six people are in custody after two homemade explosive devices were tossed outside Gracie Mansion Saturday during competing anti- and pro-Muslim protests, causing a panic.
Dozens of demonstrators and counter-protesters fled as smoke started to billow from a device which appeared to have a lit fuse and was wrapped in duct tape. There were no injuries and no explosion at roughly 12:30 p.m. standoff, police said.
An unknown device went off at Gracie Mansion on Saturday, causing a plume of smoke and inciting chaos, according to sources and police. REUTERS
Jake Lang, a conservative, right-wing influencer, stages a “stop the Islamification of NYC” demonstration outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zorhan Mamdani. Michael Nigro
A man was seen holding the possible smoke bomb during the protest outside Gracie Mansion. REUTERS
Four people, including one man seen holding the unknown device, were arrested. Michael Nigro
The unknown device that went off outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday, March 7, 2026.
A second device was also seen, according to the NYPD.
Those devices were glass jars wrapped in electrical tape containing bolts, screws, and nuts and featuring a hobby fuse “that could be lit,” according to the NYPD.
The NYPD was still investigating whether the homemade devices were functional and if they contained any explosive material.
“We’re trying to determine right now if it was a hoax or the real thing,” said an NYPD spokesman.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the FBI, is investigating, police sources said.
Two people were in custody after the homemade-grenade hurling incident.
The anti-Muslim rally outside Gracie Mansion was organized by right-wing agitator Jake Lang, who was photographed holding a pepper spray amid chaos. AFP via Getty Images
Police clashed with protestors during the rally outside Gracie Mansion. Michael Nigro
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang raises a fist at Saturday’s protest organized by the influencer. Getty Images
Counter protester Emir Balat, 18, lit and threw the first device into the crosswalk of East 87th Street and East End Avenue, where it struck a barrier and later extinguished itself, police said.
The second person, who has been tentatively identified as 19-year-old Ibrahim Nikk, allegedly handed the device to Balat, authorities said.
Balat is alleged to have lit a second improvised explosive which he dropped on while running on East End Avenue between East 86th and East 87th Street.
Counter protesters arrived at the same time and tensions flared between the groups. Lone Pine Press for NY Post
A total of two devices were found at the scene, according to the NYPD. Lone Pine Press for NY Post
“We’re not tracking any injuries,” sources told The Post, adding that the devices were still being examined before being detonated and destroyed at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx. Reports that one of the devices was a nail bomb were inaccurate, cops said.
Four others were cuffed for their role in the initial protest, which was organized by anti-Muslim, right-wing agitator Jack Lang. Lang was not arrested.
His small group of 20 haters were met by about 125 pro-Muslim protesters, witnesses said.
It is unclear which group brought the devices.
“We’re not going to get into that yet,” a police spokesman told The Post.
This photo shows an unexploded suspicious explosive device thrown by a left-wing activist towards police during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang against alleged “Islamification” in New York on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images
Photos show an unidentified individual light what appeared to be a handmade bomb and move to launch it in the street towards a throng of people. Video of the same man showed him lighting a similar device and running down the street before being tackled by NYPD cops.
Other photos show a different person also getting tackled and dog-piled by police at the scene.
More video from the scene showed one person deploying pepper spray as he was stalked by a crowd of angry, masked demonstrators.
Lang was assaulted during a similar anti-migrant demonstration in Minneapolis in January.
A man is arrested after throwing a curiously constructed smoke grenade at right-wing activist Jake Lang and his supporters on March 7, 2026, in New York City. Getty Images
Counterprotesters showed up in force after online group General Strike NYC called for their supporters to meet Lang with their own “Run The Nazis Out Of NYC” event.
The right-wing provocateur also brought along a fully cooked pig to taunt Muslims, who eschew pork for religious reasons. Lang has conducted similar stunts at previous protests — holding up baby pigs as “Islam’s kryptonite.”
Lang later claimed “there was an assassination attempt on my life today by two Muslim men, they threw what appears to be a nail bomb — landing a few feet from me and my team.
Right-wing protesters demonstrate at the rally. Getty Images
“We will never surrender to radical Islam. Jesus is King.”
The NYPD said the devices did not explode or detonate.
Video circulating on X showed the moment one device was thrown towards Lang.
Lang said he fled New York City for Long Island after the incident.
On Friday, Lang showed up to a vigil for Ayatollah Khamenei at Washington Square Park — appearing to hump a goat and wave an American flag in the back of a UHaul van, according to online video.
Police have not released the identity of any individuals in custody or announced any charges.
The Mayor’s Office deferred comment to the NYPD.