Two Arrested After Suspicious Devices Found at NYC Mayor's Home During Anti-Islam Rally
Two individuals were taken into custody on Saturday after authorities discovered "suspicious devices" outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Gracie Mansion residence. The incident occurred during an anti-Islam rally organized by pardoned January 6 insurrectionist Jake Lang, who is currently running for U.S. Senate.
Police Response and Investigation
The New York City Police Department confirmed in an email statement that they "were alerted to two suspicious devices at the location" of the mayor's official residence. Police emphasized that "no injuries or property damage have been reported at this time" and noted that the investigation remains ongoing.
It remains unclear whether Mayor Mamdani or his wife, Rama Duwaji, were present at Gracie Mansion when the devices were discovered. The NYPD has not specified whether the suspicious items originated from participants in the anti-Islam rally or from counterprotesters who had gathered at the scene.
Chaotic Protest Scene
The rally, which took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, featured Lang hosting a pig roast in apparent reference to Islam's prohibition against pork consumption. According to multiple reports, the event quickly descended into physical confrontations between anti-Islam protesters and counterprotesters outside the mayor's residence.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes including:
- A far-right protester pepper-spraying multiple individuals
- Four people reportedly being hit by the spray
- Children being present near the altercations
- Lang emerging from a U-Haul truck carrying a goat during the protest
Lang's Controversial Claims
Following the incident, Lang took to social media to claim he had "survived an assassination attempt" by "two Muslim men." He asserted that "the homemade bomb they threw landed 3 feet in front of me" but failed to detonate because "God is on the throne of my life."
Lang, who has attended multiple rallies since receiving a presidential pardon from former President Donald Trump, has a history of making controversial claims about violence at protests. In January, he stated he was stabbed by a counterprotester at a pro-ICE rally in Minneapolis but was protected by a vest, though Minneapolis police reported no corresponding incident report had been filed.
The right-wing influencer had promoted the New York rally with calls for "NYC CHRISTIANS" to stand "AGAINST THE ISLAMIFICATION OF NYC & AMERICA & ALL OF EUROPE!!!!" His inflammatory rhetoric and the discovery of suspicious devices at the mayor's residence have raised significant security concerns among city officials and community leaders.
