Zohran Mamdani faced serious accusations on Monday, with critics alleging that the New York City mayor refused to condemn the new ISIS angle in the IED case near Gracie Mansion during protests last week. Two men, identified as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Nikk, are suspected of bringing explosives to the protest outside the mayoral mansion. They are in custody.
On Monday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the explosives episode ‘is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism’. However, no charges have been brought against Balat and Nikk yet.
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“They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” Mamdani said during a press conference outside Grace Mansion. “There’s video of these two individuals throwing two devices towards the protest. The police department has determined that these were improvised explosive devices made to injure, maim, or worse.”
“Let me say this plainly: Anyone who comes to New York City to bring violence to our streets will be held accountable in accordance with the law,” he added.
What did Zohran Mamdani say about the protests?
On Sunday, Mamdani denounced the right-wing rally’s organizer, but did not directly comment on the bomb tossers.
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“Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are,” the mayor’s statement read.
“What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, but it is also reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”
Investigation reaches Pennsylvania
Meanwhile, police searched a home in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Middletown Township, and a separate federal investigation was underway in nearby Newtown, local police said. Both inquiries were related to the incident outside New York’s mayoral residence, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, wrote in a social media post Sunday.
The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office. Mamdani and his wife weren’t at the house, called Gracie Mansion, at the time.
(With AP inputs)