Gracie Mansion Protests

Authorities say a counterprotester demonstrating against a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event Saturday lit and threw a device at the protesting crowd after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the incident started late Saturday morning when someone from the anti-Islam protest associated with conservative influencer Jake Lang shot pepper spray into a counterprotesting group near Gracie Mansion. Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device she described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.

A device thrown by a counterprotester during an anti-Islam demonstration in New York City was an improvised explosive. Police say the object contained nuts, bolts and screws, plus a hobby fuse. Police Commissioner Tisch said Sunday that the bomb squad confirmed the device was not a hoax or smoke bomb, but a life-threatening improvised explosive. Two counterprotesters are in custody with charges pending. The confrontation unfolded outside the home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a protest organized by the far right activist Jake Lang to “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.”  Police also said Sunday that they were looking into a second suspicious device found in the same area of Manhattan's Upper East Side.