Veteran Charged With Arson After Manhattan ICE Fire

A 43-year-old U.S. Army veteran was charged with federal arson on Tuesday after allegedly setting a fire and launching fireworks outside a federal immigration building in Lower Manhattan, an attack officials described as an anti-government act that injured three people.

Andrew Arrabaca appeared in federal court in Manhattan on July 21, where he was charged with one count of arson of government property, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky ordered him detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, declining a request from his federal defenders to allow him to seek treatment at a Veterans Affairs hospital. "The crime you're charged with is troubling," Judge Tarnofsky said, citing the planned nature of the act and its potential for significant harm.

Federal prosecutors allege that on the morning of July 20, Arrabaca poured gasoline on the ground outside an employee entrance at 26 Federal Plaza, ignited it, and threw fireworks into the flames, causing an explosion and a large plume of smoke during the rush hour commute. Officials said he also fired pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building. Prior...