By Jake Offenhartz
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Two men suspected of bringing explosives to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion were in custody Monday, as authorities probed whether the suspects were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, the police commissioner said.
No charges had yet been brought against the men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Nikk, but federal prosecutors and police planned a news conference later in the day. In the meantime, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a morning news conference that the explosives episode “is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.”
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Meanwhile, police searched a home in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Middletown Township, and a separate federal investigation was underway in nearby Newtown, local police said. Both inquiries were related to the incident outside New York’s mayoral residence, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, wrote in a social media post Sunday.
The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office. Mamdani and his wife weren’t at the house, called Gracie Mansion, at the time. The event was advertised as “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City.”
Speaking outside the residence Monday morning, Mamdani said the suspects “traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether 18-year-old Balat or 19-year-old Nikk have attorneys who can speak to the accusations. Attempts to reach their families were not immediately successful.
Tisch said there are no indications that the men’s alleged activities were connected to the ongoing war in Iran. She declined to say more about why authorities believe the suspects were motivated by the Islamic State group, a Sunni extremist group.
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“At this time, we do not have any information that connects this investigation to what’s going on overseas in Iran,” Tisch said.
The protest Saturday drew a larger group of counterdemonstrators, including one person who police say tossed a smoking object containing nuts, bolts, screws and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd.
The device extinguished itself steps from police officers, Tisch noted. The same person who threw it then dropped a second device that did not appear to ignite, the commissioner said.
City officials also praised the officers who confronted the suspect during the chaotic scene. Mamdani and Tisch specifically commended Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro, who ran toward a lit device during the protest to stop the threat.
The scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam protest, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after pepper-spraying counterprotesters. A message seeking comment was left for an attorney for McGinnis.
Three others were taken into custody but were released without charges.
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Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz and David Collins in New York contributed.
Police1 staff contributed to this report.
