Six\u00a0people are in custody after two\u00a0homemade explosive devices\u00a0were tossed outside Gracie Mansion Saturday during competing anti- and pro-Muslim protests, causing a panic.<\/p>\n
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\u00a012:30 p.m. standoff, police said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An unknown device went off at Gracie Mansion on Saturday, causing a plume of smoke and inciting chaos, according to sources and police. REUTERS<\/p>\n
Jake Lang, a conservative, right-wing influencer, stages a \u201cstop the Islamification of NYC\u201d demonstration outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Zorhan Mamdani. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n
A man was seen holding the possible smoke bomb during the protest outside Gracie Mansion. REUTERS<\/p>\n
Four people, including one man seen holding the unknown device, were arrested. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n
The unknown device that went off outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday, March 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
A second device was also seen, according to the NYPD.<\/p>\n
Those devices were glass jars wrapped in electrical tape containing bolts, screws, and nuts and featuring a hobby fuse \u201cthat could be lit,\u201d according to the NYPD.<\/p>\n
The NYPD was still investigating whether the homemade devices were functional and\u00a0if they\u00a0contained any explosive material.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to determine right now if it was a hoax or the real thing,\u201d said an NYPD spokesman.<\/p>\n
The Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the FBI, is investigating, police sources said.<\/p>\n
Two people were in custody after the\u00a0homemade-grenade hurling\u00a0incident.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Police clashed with protestors during the rally outside Gracie Mansion. Michael Nigro<\/p>\n
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang raises a fist at Saturday\u2019s protest organized by the influencer. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Counter\u00a0protester Emir Balat, 18, lit and threw the first device into the crosswalk of East\u00a087th Street and East End Avenue,\u00a0where it struck a barrier and later extinguished itself,\u00a0police said.<\/p>\n
The second person, who\u00a0has\u00a0been tentatively identified as 19-year-old Ibrahim Nikk, allegedly handed the device to Balat, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Balat is alleged to have lit a second improvised explosive which he dropped on while running on East End Avenue between East\u00a086th and East\u00a087th Street.<\/p>\n
Counter protesters arrived at the same time and tensions flared between the groups. Lone Pine Press for NY Post<\/p>\n
A total of two devices were found at the scene, according to the NYPD. Lone Pine Press for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not tracking any injuries,\u201d sources told The Post, adding that the devices were still being examined before being detonated and destroyed at Rodman\u2019s Neck in the Bronx. Reports that one of the devices was a nail bomb were inaccurate, cops said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His small group of\u00a020 haters\u00a0were met by about\u00a0125\u00a0pro-Muslim protesters, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
It is unclear which group brought the devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to get into that yet,\u201d a police spokesman told The Post.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cIslamification\u201d in New York on Saturday. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Other photos show a different person also getting tackled and dog-piled by police at the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More\u00a0video from the scene<\/a>\u00a0showed one person deploying pepper spray as he was stalked by a crowd of angry, masked demonstrators.<\/p>\n Lang was assaulted\u00a0during a similar anti-migrant demonstration in Minneapolis<\/a>\u00a0in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n Counterprotesters showed up in force after online group\u00a0General Strike NYC called for their supporters<\/a>\u00a0to meet Lang with their own \u201cRun The Nazis Out Of NYC\u201d event.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 holding up baby pigs as\u00a0\u201cIslam\u2019s kryptonite.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Lang later claimed \u201cthere was an assassination attempt on my life today by two Muslim men, they threw what appears to be a nail bomb \u2014 landing a few feet from me and my team.<\/p>\n Right-wing protesters demonstrate at the rally. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cWe will never surrender to radical Islam. Jesus is King.\u201d<\/p>\n The NYPD said the devices did not explode or detonate.<\/p>\n Video\u00a0circulating on X<\/a>\u00a0showed the moment one device was thrown towards Lang.<\/p>\n Lang said he fled New York City for Long Island after the incident.<\/p>\n On Friday, Lang showed up to a vigil for Ayatollah Khamenei at Washington Square Park \u2014 appearing to hump a goat and wave an American flag in the back of a UHaul van,\u00a0according to online video<\/a>.<\/p>\n Police have not released the identity of any individuals in custody or announced any charges.<\/p>\n The Mayor\u2019s Office deferred comment to the NYPD.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t