'Anti-ICE' army veteran started fire outside Manhattan federal building, say officials

What the report says

BBC World News reported that Andrew Arrabaca, a 43-year-old former US Army soldier from Poughkeepsie, New York, was arrested after allegedly starting a fire outside 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan on Monday morning. The federal building houses offices for the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

According to the FBI account cited by the BBC, Arrabaca set off fireworks, fired roughly five to seven airsoft pellets toward the building and poured an accelerant on entrance steps, igniting a blaze that was later extinguished by firefighters. Federal agents tackled and detained him. Officials said he had two axes, a machete, three knives and fireworks in his possession.

The FBI said three people had minor injuries, including two government employees and an immigrant who was at the site for a status hearing. The Department of Homeland Security described Arrabaca as an “anti-ICE rioter,” while the FBI said he made anti-government and anti-ICE remarks during the episode. FBI New York Assistant Director James Barnacle characterized him as an anti-government extremist, according to the BBC report.

The incident matters because 26 Federal Plaza has been a focus of demonstrations over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, making security there politically sensitive. The BBC, citing its US partner CBS, reported that Arrabaca served in the regular Army from 2001 to 2004 and in the New York Army National Guard from 2004 to 2005, leaving as a specialist with no deployments. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the episode “deeply disturbing” and said the city would seek accountability for threats to public safety.