New York (AFP) – Police detained a man who threw what appeared to be two homemade incendiary devices near far-right protesters demonstrating at the residence of New York’s mayor Saturday, AFP correspondents saw. Far-right influencer Jake Lang was demonstrating against alleged “Islamification” and calling for an end to “public Muslim prayer” in New York in front of Gracie Mansion, the residence of mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim.
A man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige cargo pants was handed a device wrapped in tape and billowing smoke by a fellow activist. He dropped it near a line of police before vaulting a crash barrier. The man had earlier thrown a similar device towards Lang’s group of protesters. Moments later, he and another man were detained by police, who were heavily deployed to the protest.
“No injuries or property damage have been reported at this time. Two persons of interest were taken into custody, and the investigation is ongoing,” police told AFP, adding that they had been alerted to “two suspicious devices.” The man, apparently a counter-demonstrator opposed to Lang, shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”), an AFP correspondent at the scene heard.
The New York Police Department bomb squad was deployed. There were some scuffles, apparently between protesters and counter-demonstrators, but police had no details on further arrests.
© 2024 AFP
