Protests at Gracie Mansion

Counter-protester lights explosive amid anti-Mamdani protest, utters 'Allahu Akbar'

— but NYC mayor Mamdani rips 'bigotry and racism'

A counter-protester lit what police said was an explosive device during a protest Saturday against Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City. The counter-protester also was caught on video uttering "Allahu Akbar" as police were arresting him.

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday announced that the device was real — not a hoax device or smoke bomb, WNYW reported.

The initial protest, called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” was led by Jake Lang; police called Lang a "far-right provocateur." The protest outside Gracie Mansion — the mayor's residence — drew a counter-protest dubbed “Run The Nazis Out Of NYC.”

Fistfights erupted between the two sides, the New York Times reported.

Tisch stated during a press conference following the altercation that counter-protester Emir Balat, 18, “lit and threw an ignited device.”

Balat then ran to retrieve a similar device from another man — identified as 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi — lit the device, ran toward the protest, and dropped it, WNYW-TV reported. [Blaze]

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