Police investigating after device thrown at anti-Islam protest in New York City

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NEW YORK (AP) — A counterprotester demonstrating against a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event Saturday lit and threw a device containing nuts, bolts and screws at the protesting crowd after someone from that group used pepper spray on the counterprotest, police said.

Police are investigating the incident that started late Saturday morning when someone from the anti-Islam protest associated with conservative influencer Jake Lang shot pepper spray into a counterprotesting group near the mayoral residence Gracie Mansion, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Tensions continued to heighten, she said, when someone in the counterprotest lit and threw a device she described as smaller than a football into the protesting crowd of about 20 people.

The device struck a barrier and extinguished itself “a few feet from police officers,” she said. The same person then ran, and another person gave a him a second device, which he then dropped. The devices, which Tisch said were smaller than a football, were wrapped in black tape with nuts, bolts, and screws, as well as a hobby fuse that could be lit. She said it was unclear if they were functioning devices or a hoax.

All three people have been arrested, and an investigation is underway, Tisch said.

Tisch didn’t report any injuries during a news conference and said she believed Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not in the residence at the time.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

Lang has also protested in Minneapolis during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Tisch said about 20 people showed up to the protest tied to him on Saturday, and the counterprotest had about 125 people at its peak.