A counter-protester demonstrating against the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event on Saturday ignited and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws into the protesting crowd after someone in that group used pepper spray at the counter-protest, police said.
Police are investigating the incident that began Saturday morning when someone from the anti-Islam protest associated with conservative influencer Jake Lang fired pepper spray at a group of counterdemonstrators near Mayor Gracie Mansion’s residence, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Tensions continued to rise, she said, when someone at the counter-protest ignited and threw a device she described as smaller than a soccer ball into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.
The device collided with a barrier and went off “a few meters from the police officers,” he said. The same person then ran and another gave him a second device, which he then dropped. The devices, which Tisch said were smaller than a football, were wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts and screws, as well as a fuse that could be lit. He said it was unclear whether these were working devices or a hoax.
All three people have been arrested and an investigation is underway, Tisch said.
Tisch did not report any injuries during a news conference and said he believed Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not at the residence at the time.
Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping clemency act for the defendants on Jan. 6 last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for the United States Senate in Florida.
Lang has also protested in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Tisch said about 20 people attended the protest linked to him on Saturday, and the counter-protest had about 125 people at its peak.
