Incendiary attack hits ICE-linked federal building in Manhattan

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Smoke billows from the area in front of a federal building where a suspect allegedly set off an incendiary device Monday morning (AP) independent.co.uk

The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Andrew Arrabaca, brought a cart that had a sign reading ‘ICE off our streets’ (Reuters) Reuters

Law enforcement officers tackled a suspect and arrested him moments after his alleged attack on a New York City building that houses an ICE field office (AP) independent.co.uk

Law enforcement officials quickly responded to the scene outside the federal building where a suspect set fire to clear liquid and canisters. The suspect allegedly brought a cart with an anti-ICE message written on it (Getty) Getty

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A man set fire outside a federal building in Manhattan that houses an ICE field office, according to The Independent, and investigators say he arrived with a cart of “anti-ICE literature” and a collection of weapons. The suspect, identified as Andrew Arrabaca, was taken into custody after an early-morning incident outside 26 Federal Plaza, where immigration hearings and other federal services are held.

The details matter because the building is not just an ICE office; it is also where immigrants show up for scheduled proceedings, and The Independent reports that one of the three people who suffered minor injuries was an immigrant attending a hearing. That is the operational reality of federal enforcement: the same address functions as bureaucracy, policing and a public-facing service counter, so any security failure hits bystanders first. The FBI said an incendiary device was deployed and the Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, a sign that the case is being treated as more than routine vandalism.

The Independent reports that Arrabaca is a U.S. Army veteran and that officials described him as an “anti-American, anti-government extremist.” In video cited by the outlet, he is shown dumping fluid and canisters before igniting the fire, and a nearby security officer intervened before law enforcement made the arrest. Police say he carried items including airsoft guns, knives, a machete, axes and fireworks; charges had not yet been filed at the time of reporting.

The episode lands amid a broader political climate in which immigration enforcement has become a visible, street-level flashpoint rather than a distant administrative process. In recent days, national reporting has focused on enforcement tactics and oversight—how stops are conducted, what is recorded, and when agencies change policy after violence occurs—while local officials are left to manage the immediate risk around federal facilities. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the incident “deeply disturbing” and said the city was in touch with the NYPD and would support the federal investigation.

At 26 Federal Plaza, the Independent’s account suggests, the day’s immigration calendar continued to run through the same doors where the fire was set.