The FBI arrested two people for throwing improvised explosive devices at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Gracie Tower during a raucous weekend protest. Both of those arrested are children of immigrants. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Saturday that an anti-Islam protest was organized by people associated with far-right influencer Jake Lang, the rioter who was pardoned on January 6. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that a group of more than 100 counterprotesters also gathered and that two young men from Pennsylvania, angry at the anti-Islamic protests, brought homemade bombs to the rally with the intent of causing harm.The two men are 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi from Pennsylvania. Barat’s parents were born in Türkiye and became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2017. Barratt, a U.S. citizen, had been living with his family in a two-story house in Pennsylvania. A woman at the residence confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that Barratt lived at the house.Kayumi’s parents are from Afghanistan. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2004 and 2009. It was unclear whether Kayumi was living with them at the time of Saturday’s incident.Investigators are looking into Bharat and Qayumi’s overseas travel history. Bharat left the United States for several months and traveled to Istanbul from May 6 to August 26, 2025. He most recently returned to the United States from Türkiye in January this year. Meanwhile, Kayumi traveled to Istanbul for several weeks in July and August 2024 and traveled to Saudi Arabia in late March of that year.The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has led the terrorism investigation. Search warrants are expected to be executed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, sources told CBS News.In a statement on Sunday, Mamdani singled out Long and said the protests outside Gracie Tower were “rooted in bigotry and racism” and had no place in New York City.“This is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are,” he said.He did not name the two men arrested over the IEDs. Instead, he said, “Attempting to use an explosive device and harm others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and goes against who we are.”
