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

Gracie Mansion protest: Lit devices thrown into crowd

Six people were arrested at dueling protests outside Gracie Mansion on Saturday. Two were arrested for lighting and throwing "ignited devices" at the crowd. The bomb squad is still investigating.

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.

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 an 18-year-old man, lit and threw a device into the protest crowd, which hit a barrier and put itself out. The counterprotester then ran, Tisch said, and got another similar device from another man, identified as a 19-year-old, lit it, and ran toward the protest again. The counterprotester allegedly dropped the device, and officers arrested him and the man accused of giving him the second device.

What we don't know:

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

Police did not identify the other people arrested.

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

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, but officials don't know yet whether they were functional.

The bomb squad has taken the devices for further testing.