- U.S. Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca was arrested for setting fires outside New York’s 26 Federal Plaza on Monday morning.
- The suspect used gasoline, fireworks, and airsoft rifles to target federal employees and civilians entering the building.
- Authorities recovered multiple bladed weapons and anti-ICE literature at the scene during the joint FBI and NYPD investigation.
A 43-year-old U.S. Army veteran, Andrew Arrabaca, was taken into custody Monday after allegedly setting fires and igniting fireworks outside 26 Federal Plaza, where New York’s ICE field office and the FBI’s New York field office are located.
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. EDT in Lower Manhattan. Authorities said Arrabaca poured gasoline from a bucket onto the building’s stairs, then used a lighter and a large firework inside a canister to ignite it.
He also set fire to a shopping cart filled with fireworks, using a flame accelerant, according to authorities. A Federal Protective Service officer detained him and suffered minor injuries.
Arrabaca allegedly used two airsoft rifles to menace pedestrians and fired “five to seven” pellets toward the building. Authorities also found two axes, a hammer, a machete and three fixed-blade knives when they arrested him.
James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office, said Arrabaca told police he “was targeting the building and he was okay if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians.”
Barnacle described him as an “anti-American, anti-government extremist,” citing statements Arrabaca made before and after his arrest and the actions authorities say he took at the building.
“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist. We know that from what he said. We know that from what he has said post-arrest. And we know that from … his actions that he tried to take today.”
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to file charges
James McDonald, the deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the investigation remains active and that prosecutors have made no decision on charges.
Arrabaca was not immediately available for comment. Authorities also had not established whether he had a lawyer.
The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation and examining whether the incident constituted an anti-ICE attack. The NYPD bomb squad was inspecting the cart and fireworks after the arrest.
Arrabaca suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries. The Federal Protective Service officer who detained him also sustained minor injuries.
Authorities said two other people were lightly injured. The FDNY reported that four civilians received treatment for minor injuries, with one taken to NewYork-Presbyterian hospital and three refusing care.
Road closures and other disruptions were expected around Worth Street and Lafayette Street in Manhattan’s Financial District after the incident.
Fireworks, weapons and anti-ICE material surrounded the cart
Authorities found anti-ICE literature, including a poster, and paraphernalia marked “ICE off our streets” on the cart. The weapons recovered at the scene included:
- Two axes
- One hammer
- One machete
- Three fixed-blade knives
- Two airsoft rifles, described as pellet guns
- Fireworks and a flame accelerant
The alleged attack involved more than one ignition point. Arrabaca allegedly poured gasoline onto the federal building’s stairs, ignited that material, and separately set the shopping cart on fire.
The NYPD bomb squad’s inspection focused on the cart and the fireworks. Authorities are also examining the pellet guns and other items recovered during the arrest.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was relieved that no one suffered serious injuries and that police had a suspect in custody.
“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing. I'm relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody.”
Authorities linked the suspect to earlier anti-ICE activity
Arrabaca lives in Harlem and served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005. During his military service, he serviced Patriot missile systems.
Authorities described him as having a history of anti-ICE activity and said he may have taken part in earlier protests. The materials found on his cart also carried anti-ICE messages.
He arrived in Midtown by subway on Sunday, authorities said, then spent the night on the street in Lower Manhattan before Monday morning’s incident.
The sequence placed him near the federal building before business hours. By the time authorities detained him, the cart contained fireworks and anti-ICE material, while he was carrying multiple bladed weapons and the two airsoft rifles.
The investigation will determine whether federal or state prosecutors pursue charges and whether authorities classify the incident as an anti-ICE attack. McDonald said that decision had not been made as of Monday.
The FBI task force and the bomb squad continued examining the scene after the arrest, while officials assessed injuries and disruptions near Worth Street and Lafayette Street.
