Gracie Mansion protests: Bomb squad investigating 2 'ignited devices' thrown into crowd

NEW YORK - Six people were arrested in dueling demonstrations outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday, according to the NYPD, including two people who were arrested for throwing "ignited devices" into the crowd.

LATEST: Improvised explosive device thrown into crowd during Gracie Mansion protests: NYPD

Gracie Mansion protest

What we know:

The demonstrations started around 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, March 7, outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence. More than 100 people gathered for dueling protests, police said.

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The initial protest, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, was called "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City." The group of about 20 people, according to Tisch, was "associated with far right provocateur Jake Lang."

Lang is the same person who went viral after he was arrested for destroying an anti-ICE ice sculpture in Minneapolis.

More than 120 people also gathered for a counter-protest called "Run the Nazis out of New York City."

Police said that tensions quickly escalated between the two sides, and officers had to separate the two protests. 

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., police said a counterprotester, identified as 18-year-old Emir Balat, lit and threw a device into the protest crowd, which hit a barrier and put itself out. Balat then ran, Tisch said, and got another similar device from another man, identified as 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, lit it, and ran toward the protest again. The counterprotester allegedly dropped the device, and officers arrested both Balat and Kayumi.

‘Despicable and Islamaphobic’ protest

What we don't know:

Four other people were arrested, the NYPD announced, including one protester from the original group accused of pepper spraying counterprotesters, and three others accused of disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic. 

Police did not identify the other people arrested.

What they're saying:

In response to the anti-Islamic protest outside the mayor's residence, Zohran Mamdani's team called the event "despicable and Islamaphobic."

"The ‘Crusade Against Islamification’ gathering held outside Gracie Mansion today by Jake Lang, a vile white supremacist, was despicable and Islamaphobic," Press Secretary Joe Calvello said in a statement to FOX 5 NY. "Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly."

Calvello added that Mamdani has spoken with Tisch, and that the NYPD is investigating both the protest and the counterprotest, and the devices that were found.

It was not clear whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani or his family were at Gracie Mansion during the protests.

On Sunday, Mayor Mamdani issued his own statement, saying that the initial protest "rooted in bigotry and racism… has no place in New York City."

"What allowed was even more disturbing," Mamdani said. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are."

Mamdani also thanked the NYPD officers who responded to the incident.

"Our officers ran toward danger without hesitation, demonstrating once again the courage and dedication it takes to protect this city every single day."

Bomb squad investigation

Dig deeper:

The bomb squad was called out to the scene to investigate the two devices. Police said the devices, slightly smaller than a football, were jars wrapped in black tape filled with nuts, bolts, screws and a fuse. After further testing, the NYPD found that at least one of the devices was an improvised explosive device.

The bomb squad is still analyzing the second device.