US Army veteran arrested over fire outside New York immigration offices

A US Army veteran was arrested on Monday after a fire was started outside a federal building in New York that houses immigration courts and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, officials said.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, allegedly poured gasoline outside the Manhattan building at 26 Federal Plaza and set it alight using a lighter and a firework. Officials also said he fired pellets from an airsoft rifle.

Two government employees and one civilian suffered minor injuries in the incident, officials said.

New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Trisch said a sign reading "ICE off our streets" was found on a cart Arrabaca had transported near the building. She said he was wearing a military-style helmet.

James Barnacle of the FBI's New York office said Arrabaca had also carried two axes, a hammer and three knives. Barnacle said Arrabaca shouted derogatory terms about ICE while being arrested and described him as an anti-American, anti-government extremist.

Barnacle said Arrabaca stated that he was targeting the building and was willing to hurt or kill people entering or leaving it, whether they were federal employees or civilians. Barnacle also said Arrabaca served in the US Army from 2001 to 2005 as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems.

Footage shared online showed a man dressed in black emptying a bucket over a staircase before a large flame erupted. The man then ran from the area before an officer tackled him to the ground.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X that the events were deeply disturbing and that he was relieved no one was seriously injured. He said his administration would work to keep New Yorkers safe and hold accountable anyone who threatened them.

House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York lawmaker, also condemned the attack, saying acts of terror and violence had no place in the city and would not be tolerated.

ICE, which is central to President Donald Trump's mass deportation push, has faced criticism over heavy-handed tactics, including fatal shootings cited in the report.