A man was taken into custody on Monday morning after he set off an incendiary device outside 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, an attack that federal authorities are investigating as a deliberate strike on a government facility. The building is home to the city's immigration court and to offices of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it was placed on lockdown as smoke rose from the street.
According to the FBI, the suspect poured gasoline on the ground, placed fireworks on top of it and ignited a large firework packed into a canister, setting off a fire around 8:30 a.m. Video from the scene appeared to show the man tossing the liquid and then setting it alight, with the flames spreading before firefighters and officers put them out before they could reach the building itself.
Investigators said the man had hauled his materials to the scene in a small mesh cart, which was loaded with more than just the firework. Authorities said it held a collection of weapons, including two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives, along with a pellet gun, a cache that deepened concern about what the man may have intended once he arrived outside the federal building.
The FBI said two people, a federal employee and a civilian, suffered minor injuries in the incident, and that both were treated and released. Officials noted that the one person present that morning for an immigration court appearance was among those affected, and stressed that the injuries were not serious even as the scene unfolded in alarming fashion.
Authorities identified the suspect as 43-year-old Andrew Arrabaca, who they said was from Poughkeepsie and had recently been living in Harlem, and who served in the armed forces in the early 2000s. Officials said he has a history of anti-ICE activity, and that a sign attached to his cart read 'ICE off our streets,' underscoring what investigators described as the motive behind the attack.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force took the lead on the case, working alongside the Southern District of New York, and an official from the bureau's New York field office said investigators were treating it as an anti-government attack on a federal facility. The building at 26 Federal Plaza, where immigration court is held, has been the site of frequent anti-ICE protests.
The incident brought a heavy law enforcement presence to a stretch of Lower Manhattan that houses some of the region's most sensitive federal operations. The area around the intersection of Worth and Lafayette streets was cordoned off for the investigation, with visible damage left behind, and officials said charges against the suspect had not yet been filed as the inquiry continued into the evening.