An explosive device thrown near NYC mayor’s home is being investigated by FBI’s terrorism task force. Here’s what we know

By Karina Tsui, John Miller, CNN

(CNN) — A man hurled an improvised explosive device amid dueling protests outside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Manhattan residence on Saturday, prompting an investigation by federal terrorism authorities and the discovery of an additional device in a nearby car the next day.

While the device thrown Saturday did not explode, police said it was capable of causing “serious injury or death.” Law enforcement sources told CNN the two men arrested in connection with the device admitted to being inspired by ISIS.

The violence erupted during an anti-Islam protest organized by a right-wing provocateur that was dwarfed by a crowd of more than 100 counterprotesters, officials said.

Saturday’s clash unfolded during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Mamdani, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor, and his wife Rama Duwaji, were not at Gracie Mansion at the time, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Here’s what we know:

How opposing protests boiled over

An anti-Islam protest organized by right-wing influencer Jake Lang drew roughly 20 participants, while a counterprotest called “Drive the Nazis Out of New York” peaked at about 125 people, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Tensions between the two groups, who were separated into designated protest areas, escalated shortly before noon. At around 12:15 p.m., a protester associated with Lang’s group pepper-sprayed counterprotesters, Tisch said.

Twenty minutes later, a counterprotester “threw an ignited device toward the protest area,” which landed on a crosswalk, Tisch said.

Video shows the moment the device was thrown, with protesters and police officers scrambling to get away from where it landed.

“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,” the commissioner said.

The man then retrieved a second device from another man before lighting it and starting to run, Tisch said. He dropped the second device on the street, where it appeared to emit smoke but also did not explode.

Officers secured the area, taking both men, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old, into custody. Authorities have not yet announced any charges.

Police told The New York Times the two teenagers are from Pennsylvania. CNN has reached out to the NYPD for further information.

The anti-Islam protester accused of using pepper spray was also arrested, along with three others for alleged disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic, Tisch said.

Device designed to cause harm

A preliminary analysis from the NYPD bomb squad determined both devices recovered Saturday were slightly smaller than a football and appeared to be jars wrapped in black tape containing bolts, screws and a hobby fuse, Tisch said.

The device thrown into the crosswalk appears to have been made with TATP, an extraordinarily powerful and unstable explosive that’s easy to obtain, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN, citing preliminary inspection results.

“It is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” Tisch said in a post on X. Analysis of the second device recovered at the scene is ongoing.

On Sunday, the NYPD said it was investigating a suspicious device in a vehicle a few blocks south of Gracie Mansion “in connection with” Saturday’s incident.

The area was blocked off, and “limited evacuations” of buildings were conducted while the bomb squad checked out and removed the device for further testing, police said.

A Honda Civic was removed on a flatbed truck around 7 p.m. Sunday and the streets were reopened, The Associated Press reported.

Mamdani called Saturday’s anti-Islam protest “rooted in bigotry and racism” but said what followed was “even more disturbing.”

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are,” the mayor said.

Mamdani and Tisch are scheduled to hold a news conference at Gracie Mansion Monday morning.

Investigation leads authorities to Pennsylvania

The two men arrested in connection with the explosive devices remain in custody, the FBI said Sunday evening, noting its New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating along with the NYPD and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The devices are being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN.

A large law enforcement presence was seen around one of the arrested teenagers’ homes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Sunday, according to CNN affiliate KYW.

“This is the FBI, everybody come out,” authorities were heard saying over a megaphone, leading three people to exit the residence, the outlet reported.

The FBI told KYW it was conducting “court authorized law enforcement activity” in the area but didn’t provide details.

The Newtown Township Police Department said it was assisting the FBI with an investigation Sunday afternoon and residents may see a large law enforcement presence, according to the outlet.

CNN has reached out to the FBI and Newtown Township police for information.

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CNN’s John Miller, Emma Tucker, Gloria Pazmino, Chris Boyette and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.