Reported from the source

Quick summary: US federal prosecutors have arraigned two men on terrorism charges after they allegedly threw improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at far-right agitators during an anti-Islam protest in New York City. Authorities are investigating the incident, which occurred outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence, as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism, with suspects reportedly confessing allegiance to the group.

Two men were arrested on Saturday after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at participants of an anti-Islam protest led by far-right agitator Jake Lang outside Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mayor Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, was not home at the time. The protest, organized by Lang—a white Christian nationalist with a criminal record who participated in the January 6 insurrection—decried the “Islamification of New York and America” and was met by approximately 125 anti-fascist counterprotesters. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated on Monday that the incident is “being investigated as an act of ISIS [Islamic State] inspired terrorism.” The 18 and 19-year-old suspects, who traveled from Pennsylvania, were arraigned on charges including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. According to the complaint, one suspect yelled that “ISIS” made him carry out the attack, and both men confessed to swearing allegiance to the Islamist terror outfit. One suspect reportedly expressed a desire to cause “much more bloodshed” than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The devices, described as glass preserve jars filled with screws and bolts, wrapped in duct tape, and outfitted with fuses and explosive charges, did not explode despite their fuses being lit. Commissioner Tisch confirmed they were functional IEDs capable of causing serious injury or death. An AFP correspondent reported one suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” when throwing the first device. Authorities have since conducted searches at two Pennsylvania homes and inspected a car. While an Islamist terror angle is being investigated, Tisch noted no apparent connection to the current US-Israeli war with Iran. Neither defendant has a criminal history. Mayor Mamdani condemned Lang’s protest as “rooted in bigotry and racism” and the subsequent violence as “reprehensible.” US Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed that law enforcement “will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.” Police and federal prosecutors are scheduled to hold a press conference later on Monday.

Source: www.dw.com