NEW YORK — What began as clashing demonstrations outside the official residence of New York City’s mayor spiraled into a federal criminal matter Saturday after two men allegedly hurled improvised explosive devices into the crowd — devices powerful enough, investigators say, to have killed or maimed bystanders.
Emir Balat, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Ibrahim Kayumi, of Newton, Pennsylvania, are expected to face federal charges in connection with the incident, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The two men, sources said, told investigators they had watched ISIS videos and had come to the protest specifically to confront Jake Lang — a far-right, anti-immigrant agitator whose demonstration outside Gracie Mansion ignited the confrontation.
At first, the devices appeared to be smoke bombs. They were not.
After conducting a preliminary analysis, the NYPD Bomb Squad determined the objects were live improvised explosive devices. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch made the alarming announcement Sunday, confirming that one of the devices — which had been ignited and thrown — “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.”
A second device is also under examination. Both have been sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for comprehensive forensic testing.
Tisch described what investigators believe the devices were constructed from: “a jar wrapped in black tape, with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit.” The design — crude but functional — underscores just how close Saturday’s chaos came to becoming a mass-casualty event.
How the Violence Unfolded
The trouble began around noon, when approximately 20 demonstrators affiliated with Jake Lang gathered outside Gracie Mansion for what authorities characterized as an anti-Muslim protest. Lang, a figure long associated with far-right and anti-immigrant activism, has not publicly commented on the incident or the subsequent arrests.
They were met by a far larger counterprotest — 120 people who gathered in opposition.
Tensions between the two groups escalated quickly. A member of Lang’s faction allegedly deployed pepper spray against a counterprotester and was arrested. Moments later, an 18-year-old counterprotester was recorded lighting and throwing a device toward police officers.
“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,” Commissioner Tisch told reporters.
The same suspect then obtained a second device from a 19-year-old, lit it, and ran with it before dropping it. Officers moved swiftly and arrested both individuals.
In total, six people were arrested: the two device suspects, the pepper spray suspect from Lang’s group, and three others on charges of disorderly conduct and blocking traffic.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — the city’s first Muslim mayor — issued a forceful statement Sunday condemning both the protest and the violence that followed it.
“Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City,” Mamdani said. “It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are.”
He did not hold back on the violence either. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” he said.
The mayor also used the moment to praise law enforcement: “I want to thank the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe.”
Joe Calvello, a spokesman for the mayor, confirmed that Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, were safe when the devices were thrown. Their exact whereabouts inside or outside the mansion at the time were not immediately confirmed. Calvello called Lang a “vile white supremacist” and labeled the protest “despicable and Islamophobic.”
Commissioner Tisch reserved particular praise for the officers who responded without hesitation when they saw smoking devices arcing through the air.
“I always speak about the police running toward the danger when everyone else runs away. Let me be clear — that happened today,” she said Saturday.
No injuries were reported. That outcome, given the nature of the devices, appears to owe more to circumstance and quick police action than to any lack of intent on the part of those who threw them. The incident arrives at a politically charged moment for New York City, where Mamdani’s election as the nation’s first Muslim mayor has already made him a target of far-right hostility. His spokesman’s description of the threats the mayor and first lady “face regularly” suggests Saturday’s explosion of tension outside Gracie Mansion was not an isolated provocation — but rather the most dangerous manifestation yet of an ongoing campaign of intimidation.
The FBI’s involvement, and the federal charges expected against Balat and Kayumi, signal that authorities are treating this with the gravity it demands. As forensic analysis continues at Quantico, the full legal picture will become clearer — but the danger on Saturday was real, and the city knows it. Saturday’s dueling demonstrations outside Gracie Mansion crossed a line that few anticipated: from political protest into potential mass violence. The confirmation that improvised explosive devices — not smoke bombs — were thrown within feet of police officers marks a serious escalation. Federal charges, FBI lab analysis, and a city-wide conversation about the threats facing its first Muslim mayor are now all in motion. The investigation is ongoing.
