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A protest met a counter protest on New York City's Upper East Side and counter protesters lobbed incendiary devices, homemade bombs, IEDs, jars filled with explosives, nails and screws. On Saturday, conservative activist Jake Lang, called a "far right provocateur" by the NYPD, staged a protest outside Gracie Mansion, the home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife. Lang brought about 20 people and a roasted pig while calling for the end to what he called the Islamification of New York City.
In response, about 125 counter-protesters showed up. Two of those have been arrested for throwing homemade bombs. The bombs did not go off, but they were brought to Rodman's Neck in the Bronx for examination and disposal. On Sunday, NPYD Commish Jessica Tisch said "The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death."
At about 12:40 pm, a counterprotester identified as 18-year-old Emir Balat, "lit and threw and ignited a device toward the protest area," according to Tisch of the Saturday incident. "Witnesses 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," she said. Balat then retrieved a second device from 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, whom Tisch said was "tentatively identified," and rushed back to the scene. On Sunday, a third device was found at the scene.
The bombs contained TATP, a volatile, unstable substance. This is the same substance that was used in the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester, which killed 22 people, and in the 7/7 London bombings of 2005, which killed 56. That's in addition to the detritus contained within it. Many people could have been killed and the city got extraordinarily lucky. The Pennsylvania homes of both of the suspects have been raided.
The incident is being evaluated as “a possible act of terrorism” because “one of the suspects directly referenced ISIS in statements to law enforcement.” The FBI is involved in the investigation. Mamdani condemned Lang and his crew as "white supremacists" but did not note that the suspects who threw the bombs were of Turkish and Afghan dissent, respectively, yelled "Allahu Akbar" during the protest, or cited ISIS during their police interview following their arrest.
"Yesterday," Mamdani said, "white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are. What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, but it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are. I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe."
This framing made it seem like Lang and his group were the ones to attempt to kill and or maim large numbers of people, when in fact it was these two young men who brought the bombs and hurled them. In the UK, France, and here in the US, the people who defend their culture against the culture of immigrants are branded as the problem.
Libby