NYC Arrests Six After Device Thrown at Anti-Islam Protest

New York City police arrested six people on Saturday after a counterprotester threw a lit suspicious device toward an anti-Islam demonstration outside the mayor's residence, escalating tensions between the opposing groups during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The incident unfolded shortly before noon near Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, where about 20 participants gathered for a protest organized by influencer Jake Lang, who has a history of provocative demonstrations. A larger counterprotest, drawing around 125 people at its peak, opposed the event. The groups were separated into designated areas by officers, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Tensions rose when a protester affiliated with Lang's group deployed pepper spray against counterprotesters around 12:15 p.m., prompting an immediate response from police. About 20 minutes later, an 18-year-old counterprotester lit and hurled a device, described by Tisch as slightly smaller than a football and consisting of a jar wrapped in black tape containing nuts, bolts, screws and a hobby fuse. Witnesses saw flames and smoke as the object arced through the air, striking a barrier and extinguishing itself a few...