A Manhattan federal building fire led to the arrest of a former US Army soldier after officials say he set off fireworks, fired a pellet gun and poured an accelerant on the steps outside 26 Federal Plaza on Monday morning.
Andrew Arrabaca, 43, of Poughkeepsie, New York, was tackled by federal agents at the lower Manhattan site, which houses offices for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is also a familiar gathering point for protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which means the location was not chosen in a political vacuum.
What officials say happened at 26 Federal Plaza
According to the FBI, Arrabaca arrived at the building armed with multiple weapons and began the incident by firing an airsoft-style pellet gun toward the property. James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York office, said at a news conference that Arrabaca fired roughly five to seven pellets in the direction of the building.
Officials said he then launched fireworks and poured an accelerant on the steps at one entrance, starting a fire. The New York City Fire Department extinguished the blaze.
The Department of Homeland Security described Arrabaca as an “anti-ICE rioter.” The FBI said he “made several anti-government and anti-ICE statements during the incident.” The BBC said it had contacted DHS for comment.
Three people suffered minor injuries
Federal officials said three people sustained minor injuries during the incident. Barnacle said two of them were government employees.
DHS said a bystander was grazed and that a security officer who tackled and detained Arrabaca also suffered minor injuries. The FBI said one of the injured people was an immigrant who had been at the building for a status hearing, an especially grim detail in an already tense setting.
Barnacle said Arrabaca had been carrying a machete, two axes, three knives and fireworks when agents stopped him.
“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said.
Arrabaca previously served in the US Army
Arrabaca served in the regular US Army from 2001 to 2004 and then in the New York Army National Guard from 2004 to 2005, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
He had no deployments and left the Army with the rank of specialist.
The incident adds another layer of tension around 26 Federal Plaza, where immigration hearings, federal law enforcement work and public protest regularly collide in the same few blocks. That mix is already volatile enough without fireworks and a machete entering the calendar.
City officials condemn the incident
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the episode “deeply disturbing” in a post on X.
“Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city - and hold accountable any who threaten that,” he said.
Federal authorities have not detailed all charges Arrabaca may face. For now, officials are framing the case as an attack tied to anti-government and anti-ICE sentiment at one of Manhattan’s most politically sensitive federal sites.
